


Scenic Route

by Elopez7228



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, F/M, Finn tries his best, Knights of Ren - Freeform, Kylo Ren is a rock singer, Kylo needs a punch in the mouth, Rating will change, Rey Needs A Hug, Reylo - Freeform, Road Trips, Slow Burn, bb8 is a dog, his best is not enough, stormpilot happening in the background
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-12-05
Packaged: 2019-12-25 19:49:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 44,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elopez7228/pseuds/Elopez7228
Summary: Dumped at the altar by her long-time-boyfriend Finn who found out he was gay for Poe (duh!), a very-depressed, very-angry, very-strong-minded Rey decides to go alone on her honeymoon. A two-weeks road trip alone in the west of the United States, what could possibly go wrong?!This is a REYLO story.Fasten your seat belts, Rey is taking the scenic route from Colorado to California!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

London, June 29th.

 

“What are you going to do?”

Rey shrugged, unable to respond. She stirred the verbena tea in her mug mechanically, avoiding the look Jessica was giving her. After a long silence interrupted only by slurping her scalding drink.

“I dunno. Leave?” She said softly.

Jessica’s eyes widened. She had never seen Rey quite like this. Physically, sure—Jessica had seen her disheveled, her eyes red from crying so much, and bags forming under them from the lack of sleep. But it wasn’t just that. Rey was having an emotional breakdown so violent that even her best friend and confidante couldn’t seem to comfort her.

That Saturday in June had been magnificent. The air was warm and fragrant with the scent of summer blooms; they could hear children were laughing in the street, taking advantage of the final hours of the day. As evening fell on London, the sky streaked gold and crimson. It should have been perfect for a wedding.

Until last week, Rey’s life had been perfect. She had a marvelous job as Happiness Manager™ in a posh startup in Uptown, her gorgeous fiancé Finn who cherished her, her lovely flat on Betterton Street, her absolute gift of seeing the best in everyone she met, and her extensive collection of Irregular Choice pumps.

And then everything had collapsed.

Finn had left her, and Rey had lost her wedding, her flat, and her smile, in that order.

She kept the job and the shoe collection. At least she had those, thought Jessica, never the cynic.

She took Rey’s hand gently.

“You can come live with me as long as you want,”

Rey looked up, emerging from her thoughts. Even tear-stained she was still beautiful, with hazel eyes and freckled cheeks. Rey shook her head.

“That’s kind of you. I’ll take you up on it when I get back. But I’m talking about leaving to catch my plane tomorrow.”

“What plane?”

“My honeymoon. The flight to Denver is tomorrow noon. The ticket has already been paid for and it’s non-refundable, I’ve already asked for two weeks off. Married or not, it’s easier to fly there.”

“Alone? I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Rey. You’re shell shocked and miserable, it doesn’t sound like a good idea to go to the U.S. for two whole weeks in your state.”

Rey got up, running a hand through her hair. She hadn’t brushed it in forever and the split ends resisted her fingers.

“Exactly! I don’t have anything to lose. I don’t have the bloke or the flat, I have to pay for the wedding venue, the DJ, and the caterers for nothing. Two weeks of vacation for the first time in ages seems pretty reasonable. And frankly, I don’t have the courage to show up to work tomorrow and face my coworkers and their questions. Travelling can help change my mind about this! Today was supposed to be my wedding day. The best day of my life--” her voice fractured into a sob, shoulders sagging. “And he left me, the bastard…”

Jessica rose and Rey leaned against her, letting the tears flow because she could no longer hold them in. What the blazes had gotten into Finn?

Last Monday he called Rey and told her it was better to call the wedding off. She refused to even think about it, obviously. Everything was ready, all the invites confirmed, the catering paid for, and most importantly, they had been together for four years now. This wedding was the ultimate symbol of their love for each other, right? Finn had launched into a monologue about how much he had really loved her, blah, blah, blah, _but_.

There had been a _but_.

There was always a but, when going down the aisle.

This _but_ was Poe, his best friend. Poe had admitted his feeling for Finn before he could marry someone else for the rest of his life and thus become the one that got away.  And this declaration of love was a revelation for Finn. He reexamined his life like a film, his childhood, his social awkwardness, the teasing he endured in school, crushing on his teammates on the football team—and he had an epiphany. He was in love with Poe! And he was going to marry Rey in a week.  The wait transformed into something utterly terrifying (and full of an anguish that he passed off as _emotionality_ ). He was going to destroy his life, but what else could he possibly do? Marry her and string her along even when he knew his heart belonged to someone else? Rey deserved the truth, at the very least. But that would mean breaking her heart, dashing her hopes of their future, and—priorities, priorities—calling off the ceremony.

Baffled, Rey broke down at Jessica’s place. Jessica was then put in charge of informing guests of the cancellation. A disappointing and painful task which she took on for the sake of her friend.

Finn sent a couple texts asking to pick up some of his clean laundry, and Jessica told him he had no chance in hell. He could very well wear Poe’s stuff!

But that couldn’t go on forever. He had to come back at some point to handle moving out, doing all the joint paperwork, and splitting their bank accounts, financially speaking. The figurative splitting would come later, of course.  Priorities first!

Rey resumed her place on the canape cushions and brought the mug to her lips. Jess sat facing her.

“Rey, it’s a bad idea to go alone. You’re shattered right now and that’s completely understandable. I get it.  But I want you to avoid getting snookered in foreign territory,”

“That has nothing to do with it,” Rey replied. She straightened her gaze and her eyes held a new confidence.  “A change would do me some good. The more I think about it the more I see it’s the most intelligent thing to do. I’ll go off for two weeks, alone,  and do this whole road trip. I’ll see the country, meet some new people, clear my mind, and come back ready to confront it all…all the obstacles waiting for me. But in all seriousness, I need a break.”

Jessica pursed her lips, considering the arguments. Rey continued:

“Do you want to stay in the apartment for me? Finn wants to collect some of his stuff. That way he can do it in my absence. I don’t even want to consider running into Poe.”

“Fine,” Jessica conceded. “I’ll stay here while you’re gone and help Finn move. But only if you let me give him a proper beating,”

Rey laughed, for the first time in days.  Her cheeks regained color, and for a second she looked alive and well again.

“Anything you want, but can I ask another favor? Can you drop me off at the airport tomorrow?”

* * *

 

Rey grimaced, stifled by the burning heat of the airport parking garage. She’d gone through a grand total of ten hours of flight, seven hours of jet lag, three liters of tears, six boxes of tissue paper, and yet she had zero idea of what to do now.

She passed customs ("yes it's my first time in the United States, yes I have repatriation insurance, no I’m not here for work, no I was not a Nazi in 1945") and  picked up her suitcase from baggage claim. She remained dazed for a few minutes afterward, contemplating the swarm of vehicles and travelers. Behind her, the sliding doors let out a breath of air-conditioning every time they opened for a visitor.

Rey was overrun with fatigue, but she had to hold on for a few more hours. First of all: find a taxi, then, check into the hotel, and then she could finally crumble.

The wait for the taxi wasn’t long once she found the departure area. She gave the hotel’s address and finally allowed herself to breathe. Everything was different here, a vast, dry stretch of yellow prairie and red dust.  In the distance, she could see the blue outline of the Rockies, and in front of her the multilane motorway (she supposed she should call it a highway like the Americans) stretched out towards the silhouette of the Denver skyline.

A second later, the driver’s voice dragged her from her slumber. She had fallen asleep without even realizing. The woman pointed out the hotel entrance, retrieved her suitcase from the boot, and just stood there, waiting.

Rey hesitated. Was she supposed to do something?

Suddenly, it dawned on her that she needed a tip, and she realized with horror that she didn’t have a single dollar in her pocket. In her rush to leave she hadn’t bothered to exchange currencies yet. With a mixture of shame and confusion, she handed the woman ten quid, spluttering that she could always exchange it. The woman grimaced and got back into the car without taking the money. Rey heard her swear very distinctly and she chewed on her lip in remorse. She had to get her act together! Grabbing her suitcase with her left hand, she rushed across the pedestrian crossing toward the Four Seasons entrance.

She didn’t so much see as hear the car that bumped into her.

The massive black pickup halted in a _screech_ of tires and Rey’s suitcase bounced against the chrome bull bar. Stupefied, she stared at her suitcase on the ground. The side was smashed in and the handle twisted, she then looked up to the vehicle that had sprung to her left.

The door opened and a man stepped out. The first thought Rey had was that he was the spitting image of his car: towering, dark, and aggressive.

He reached her in two strides.

“What the hell is wrong with you? You threw yourself at my car! Don’t you think you should look before crossing?!”

“I—I’m sorry,” Rey sputtered.

She tried to smile to appease her interlocutor, but felt tears come to her eyes.

“I’m British, I just got here. I looked at the wrong side of the road,”

He assessed her from head to toe, and after ensuring that she had broken nothing apart from her suitcase, verified that there was no damage done to his pickup. Rey thought that it was so big that it could have broken in half without even feeling the aftershock.

Essentially, the vehicle was intact. The man ran a hand through his long, dark hair, and bent over to retrieve the twisted handle of Rey’s rolling suitcase, which he handed to her. Then he turned around and got back into the imposing pickup.

“ _Fucking tourists_ ,” he muttered as he closed the door.

He roared the engine and Rey wondered what he was compensating for with such a huge car. She imagined the vehicle in the narrow, winding streets of London and suppressed a burst of laughter. He wouldn’t even make it past the first intersection and that would be quite the disaster!

A loud honk made her jump. She was still standing in the middle of the road, suitcase in hand. Gathering herself, still processing the shock that she was nearly killed less than an hour into her vacation; she trotted across the crossing to the hotel.

She turned around just in time to see the pickup and its obnoxious owner in the distance. There was a “KYLO REN” bumper sticker on the back and she wondered what it meant. A rock band, maybe?

“Moron!”

She stuck her tongue out at him, a feeble reconciliation considering this disastrous encounter, and took a deep breath.

“Alright, cheer up! Happy vacation from now on. It can only get better from here, from right now…I hope…”  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!   
> I hope you will enjoy this story. It's the translation of the complete fic "Itinéraire Bis". So the whole story exists! It should be updated twice a week. Every chapter has the same length, count about 2000 words. The whole story is about 110K words.  
> It's rated G for now, but as the slow burn... burns, rating will increase. Expect some juicy smut later on.  
> I will also update the tags as the plot thickens.
> 
> Who is looking forward to meeting Kylo and the Knights of Ren, hottest rock band of the rockies?! :-D  
> Cheers!


	2. Chapter 2

 

If the receptionist was surprised by the disheveled, wide-eyed, young woman who was dragging a battered suitcase behind her, she had the grace not to show it. She greeted Rey with an amicable smile instead.

“Hello, welcome to Four Seasons, I’m Heather. How may I help you?”

“Hello, I have a reservation under the name Rey Jakku.”

“Sure thing, let me look that up for you,”

The receptionist wore a perfectly pressed uniform, her hair pinned up in a flawless chignon. Her fingers clattered against the keys of the keyboard and she paused, pursing her lips in dissatisfaction.

“I’m sorry—I’m not finding anything under that name. Are you sure about the check-in date?”

Rey was utterly embarrassed for a moment, but then she looked up with conviction:

“For Mr. and Mrs. Storm, please,” she amended, shakily.

The receptionist’s face lit up.

“Oh, right, Mr. and Mrs. Storm, five nights in our honeymoon suite. Congratulations from all of us, may I please have the credit card you entered for the booking, Mrs. Storm?”

Rey had been prepared for them to bring up the “ _honeymoon suite”_ , but definitely didn’t expect them to ask for Finn’s card.

“The credit card? What for?”

Heather must have gotten used to that question, her voice was gentle when she responded:

“Your booking was guaranteed by a credit card on which the first night will be charged ; I need this card to confirm your identity and charge the rest of the stay. This will also ease the check-out process, as you'll just have to put your keys in this box right here on your departure day and will be able to leave the hotel without having to go through the front desk again,”

“Okay, great, how can I cancel the other nights?”

Now she was taken aback.

“You want to leave sometime tomorrow? I can cancel the other nights without a fee, but I’ll need your passport please,”

Rey handed her passport over, and the receptionist began typing something out for the hotel records. Soon, she looked up at Rey again.

“The room is booked under the name Finn Storm. Without the credit card that made the original reservation or some form of corresponding identification, I can’t give you access. Do you have a marriage certificate?”

Rey felt like the fatigue had won over. Was this fate or something? Was Finn having fun poking needles into a voodoo doll in her likeness, was she headed for the gallows at this point?

She knew what she had to do but she really didn’t want to take it that far.

Boneless, she stepped back awkwardly and slumped into one of the overstuffed armchairs in the lobby. She had a headache. She was drowsy. She aspired only to a semblance of serenity, was it too much to ask?

Taking her phone out of her pocket, she unlocked it, scrolling mechanically past several apps, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…Contacts. In the Favourites section was “Finn Love”, accompanied by the photo of a charming young man with brown skin and soulful eyes.

She threw her phone onto a coffee table and got up, pacing. Finally, giving in to an impulse, she pressed the call icon.

 _Ring_.

He didn’t answer.

Voicemail.

She hung up, dialing the number again.

 _Ring_.

A faint voice answered, as though from millions of kilometers away…literally.

“Rey, peanut, is that you? Where are you? It’s three in the morning, are you okay?”

“Finn, I’m in Denver. At—at our hotel. For the honey moon.”

“That’s madness, peanut! You went by yourself? Oh, I’m so sorry babe, really sorry!”

“Stop. Just _stop_ it. Don’t call me _peanut._ I’m not your _babe_. Listen to me. I’m at the hotel and I need you to talk to the receptionist. The room is under your name and she refuses to give me the key,”

On the other end of the line, she can hear his breath hitch. Behind him, she then hears Poe’s familiar voice, thick with sleep. He says something she can’t quite make out, and Finn brings him up to speed in a few words. Finally, Finn gets back to her.

“Get me the receptionist.”

“Thank you.”

Rey approached Heather again, who took the call. She wrote down some numbers on a notepad as she spoke. Finally, she thanked the mystery caller politely and handed Rey the phone again, smiling.

“It’s alright ma’am, I verified his credit card information and room number. Here’s your key, room 2187 on the second floor. The elevators are behind you, on the right. Breakfast is served from seven to ten-thirty in the morning. I hope you have an excellent stay.”

“Thanks,” Rey said, not smiling more than she had to.

She fiddled with the plastic keycard with one hand. She held her phone in the other.

“Finn?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the room. Goodnight.”

“Rey, wait! I’m not okay with the idea of you doing this trip alone. Nothing good can come of it. I mean, you’re so emotionally unstable, I have a bad feeling about this—“

“ _Finn_ , I don’t even want to hear you say anything. Not anymore. It’s over. Rey, the sweet little damsel in distress— bollocks! I’m getting on fine without you. And don’t call me. If you want updates, go bother Jessica. Goodbye.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond before hanging up.

* * *

 

The room left her speechless.

A bay window as wide as her London apartment offered a gorgeous view, which glittered softly in the twilight. A huge bed was anchored in the center of the room, definitely a “king size”. Everything was ready to welcome a couple of newlyweds : a path of red rose petals led to the bed, and a tray carrying a bottle of champagne in a silver basin was seemingly waiting for them.

The sight of what should have been the scene for a magical wedding night clawed at Rey, but she felt she had shed enough tears for the day. She went to the bathroom, whistling in admiration in front of the Jacuzzi, and following an impulse, turned on the faucets all the way. She poured a whole bottle of bubble bath into the hot water, and added a few handfuls of rose petals ( _let’s have it all!_ ).

After flicking through the room service menu, she phoned the front desk to order dinner. Everything would be put on Finn’s credit card. Was it not the most natural thing in the world to make him pay, literally, for this wedding night alone?

A flute of champagne in one hand and a strawberry in the other, Rey slid into the hot water with delight. She wouldn’t have the pleasure of such luxury from now on. The rest of her trip would be decidedly Spartan. She closed her eyes.

“There’s no time like the present, tomorrow it’ll all be over.”

Tomorrow she would have to find lodging that was within her limited means.  And where would she get a cheap rental car to drive to California? Her returning flight would depart from San Francisco exactly two weeks from now. At least she had time instead of money. She could indulge in some tourism.

Rey woke up at five in the morning, around noon in London time. She tried to go back to sleep, rolled over in bed without even reaching the other side, burying herself under the cushions, in vain. Finally, she got up, dressed, struggled against the twisted zipper of her suitcase, and repacked her things. Sitting at the end of the bed, she pondered what to do next. Was it better to wait until the restaurant opened for breakfast at seven? Or should she  go hang out at the spa, or return the key and get some coffee from down the road?

The spa seemed like the most comfortable option, but deep inside, her mind was already racing. She needed paper money, a new suitcase, a cheap rental car, and probably a GPS. Procrastinating—bubbling away until checkout—would give her nothing but another chance to wallow in her misery while rehashing the events of the past few days until she went mad. She had to be proactive, to set objectives for herself.

Right, then.

Objective A: find a place to get a coffee.

Dragging her suitcase - which was no longer rolling behind her - Rey put her key in the checkout box and went out into the street. The air smelled like sage and lilac, and the city seemed at peace. Taking a closer look, she could see volleys of delivery trucks, buses, and various other vehicles, as if the city had awakened after a good night's sleep.

Aimlessly wandering the streets, Rey spotted a neon sign, and painted letters on a window advertising "fresh coffee all day and night, come and taste our homemade cinnamon rolls!"

The idea of a home-made cinnamon bun and a hot coffee made her speed up. She paid no attention to the black pickup parked a few meters away.

The shop was warm and welcoming, the décor simultaneously rustic and cozy: refurbished wooden benches, weathered paint, exposed brick, hardwood, and rusted metal.

Rey put her suitcase down near a bench, and walked to the counter. Her stomach growled at the smell of hot pastries and freshly brewed coffee. She spoke to the waitress, a young Asian woman with a round face and a cheeky smile.

 

“Hello, I'll have a coffee ... Americano. Grande. With cream. And a cinnamon roll.”

“Excellent choice, they come out of the oven soon, tell me how you like ‘em. That’ll be six twenty-five please. Go ahead and take a seat, I’ll bring it around for you,”

Rey paid with card, and took a seat on the bench. Apart from her, there was only one other customer, a man with broad shoulders and very long dark hair. He was facing the other direction and she couldn’t see his face, but she wondered if he was anything like the bloke from yesterday, the one who had smashed her suitcase with his monstrous pickup.

It was probably a good time to call Jessica. Considering jet lag, it was early afternoon in London, and her friend was probably worried about her. It would do Rey good to talk to someone.

She pulled her smartphone from her bag and was stunned for a moment when the screen refused to light up. Well, it wasn’t broken, she knew that.

She realized she hadn’t recharged since leaving London. Nine hours of flight, a whole night after: the battery was dead.

She searched around for an outlet, and found several under the tables. The place was decidedly welcoming; everyone could charge their smartphone or laptop with a coffee, and now she could readily imagine the place would be overrun with college students in an hour or two.

Her smile froze. The outlet consisted of two tiny vertical slits, nowhere near the triangular kind that was used in England. She cursed. What would she do? The purchase of an adapter was thus added to the already long list of things to think about, and in the meantime, she had neither emails, nor service, nor Google Maps. How _convenient_ it would be to find a rental car company now…

When the waitress approached, placing a steaming cup and a cinnamon bun on the table, Rey gently touched her arm to get her attention.

“Excuse me, do you happen to have any adapters for a charger like this?”

The waitress pursed her lips.

“No, where does it come from?”

“From England…”

The girl's face lit up.

“Oh, that explains the adorable accent! So charming…sorry, I can’t help you. There’s a mall like two blocks from here, you will definitely find an electronics store that sells adapters.”

“Okay, thank you very much.”

Rey stirred her coffee mindlessly, added a packet of sugar, and resumed stirring. She stared blankly at the shoulders of the man sitting at the other table.

Oh, bollocks, what did she have to lose?

She went up to him slowly so as not to startle him.

“ Sir?”

He turned to her. She paled. He was the guy in the pickup. But she kept her calm, maybe he wouldn’t recognize her.

“Hello, excuse me for disturbing you. My phone has no battery, may I use your phone to call someone?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as though considering her request carefully.

"Aren’t you the Brit who rammed her suitcase against my car yesterday?”

Rey blushed slightly, then frowned.

“Well, yes, but actually, no. I did not " _ram my suitcase against your car_ "; it was you who barely failed to crush _me_ , and ruined my suitcase, in fact.”

He raised an eyebrow, and turned slightly, propping an elbow on the back of his chair.

“And what do you want?”

“To call someone. Please. My battery is dead and I have to buy an adapter ... well it's complicated.”

“Call where?”

“England.” Her voice broke in the middle of the word.

She realized that it was too much to ask for a long distance call on a stranger’s phone. Then she began to talk very quickly, a habit of hers when she was embarrassed:

“I can send a text message and ask to be called back. Please, it's important.”

“Nothing is ever simple with you, is it?” His tone was glacial but she thought she saw him smile.

He handed her his phone.

“Go ahead, call. I have unlimited international minutes. Just don’t drain my entire battery, okay?”

Rey breathed a sigh of relief. She realized that she had been holding her breath and tensing her shoulders. She smiled gratefully.

“Thank you. I'll give it back to you right away. By the way, my name is Rey.”

“Ben Solo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh oh oh! second encounter of Rey and the tall, dark, snarky Ben Solo!  
> Where do you think these two are going from here?  
> 1-They fight over her broken suitcase and she slits his face in half with her butter knife  
> 2-He offers to give her a ride to California aboard his monster truck  
> 3-He wants her number but she's grieving over Finn and gets angry at him  
> 4- Other idea? Please share! 
> 
> I am not sure about the publishing pace. I expect 2 chapters a week, according to the translator's time management. She is doing this for free and out of pure kindness so let's give her a standing ovation! I hope you can appreciate her hard work as you know, this story has been written in French.
> 
> Also I changed the rating, figuring out most readers wouldn't even bother clicking on a fic rated anything else than "E" ;-)


	3. Chapter 3

Jessica was both overjoyed and terrified when she recognized Rey’s voice over the phone. She was shouting with a mixture of glee and rage about something along the lines of worrying to death and never being happier to hear something in her life.

Noticing Jessica’s sheer levels of anxiety, Rey strategically omitted certain details. She confirmed that she had arrived safely and had spent an unforgettable night in a luxury hotel—all at Finn’s expense, of course. She also downplayed the fact that her phone had run out of battery.

On the other end of the table, Ben Solo was trying very hard to pretend that he wasn’t listening. Rey knew that he didn’t miss a single word she said. She didn’t like the idea of being indebted to him, so she cut the call short, simply asking Jessica to tell the others that she was doing just fine and was having a _splendid_ holiday.

Except for Finn of course. Finn could go die for all she cared. In fact, she _really_ hoped he would.

She handed the phone back to Ben, who was still pretending to be disinterested.

“Problems with the boyfriend?”

Rey narrowed her eyes, dismissing the question as inappropriate.

“None of your business. Thanks for the cellphone. How much do I owe you?”

“Your digits. Then we’re even.”

Was he actually _flirting_ with her? Rey sighed disdainfully.

“After nearly killing me with your Monster Truck, you’re trying to flirt with me? You have some gall, don’t you? Have a nice day, and thank you for the call.”

Picking up her damaged suitcase again, she waved politely to the waitress, who waved back. Then she headed over to the door. At the shopping center, she withdrew 500 dollars in cash, some of which she used to buy an adapter and a shoulder bag. She judged the new bag to be more suited to her trek across the country than her current roller model (which wasn’t doing a whole lot off rolling anyway).

The encounter with Ben Solo kept gnawing at her. The man was both intoxicating and insufferable, like over-sharp cologne that gave you a headache and made it harder to think.  He was a bullish, arrogant show-off—and yet something about him mesmerized her. The way he chewed his lip when he was deep in thought, the constellation of beauty marks on his face, or the involuntary grace in the way he ran his fingers through his hair. It made him seem vulnerable, utterly human. A far cry from the apathetic snark he pretended to be.

Emerging from the shopping center, she peered around the corner to make sure the pickup was no longer parked there.  Reassured that it had disappeared,  she walked over to the Night Owl café in relief now that Ben Solo had left the premises.

The new customers were hipster types, likely students, clad in harem pants, plaid, and oversized glasses. They typed away on their laptops, sipping from fancy drinks graced with floating scoops of ice cream.

“Hello again, can I hang around here while I recharge my phone? Should I order something else?” She asked, approaching the waitress again.

“No need, go ahead and make yourself at home. You can stay as longs as you want. I’m sorry about that annoying customer. Are you alright?”

Manners dictated that Rey should simply have responded _fine, thanks_ , but the words that left her lips instead were “It’s absolute hell, I want to die.”

She blushed immediately, chewing on her lip. What had possessed her to open up to a stranger?

The waitress looked up at the clock mounted on the wall.

“I’ve got some time before the lunch rush, wanna talk? I can make you some fresh squeezed orange juice, it’s loaded with vitamins, it’ll help you recharge,”

“I—well…alright. That’s kind of you. By the way, I’m Rey,”

“I’m Rose, nice to meet you. I have a feeling your trip hasn’t gone to plan. Have you been here long?”

“Since yesterday,” Rey sighed, taking the glass of orange juice that Rose offered. She plopped down onto a bench and when Rose sat across from her, she told her everything: Finn, the wedding, the annulment, Poe, Jessica, the honeymoon trip, Ben Solo and his pickup.

Rose listened attentively, occasionally nodding _mhm_ to encourage  Rey to keep going. Finally she asked, “But how much money do you have for this trip?”

“Not much, really” Rey shrugged, “Finn and I took out a loan to pay for the wedding, but now I have to reimburse the suppliers, give back our apartment, and whatever else I have to budget for the next five years. I’m generally better off the less I spend. It wasn’t the idea of the century to go on a two-week holiday with barely a quid to spare.”

Rose pursed her lips, assessing that last sentence. “I know someone who could use your services, if you’re interested. The job will make you some cash and take you pretty close to San Francisco.”

Rey hesitated. Silent alarm bells went off in her head, a gut instinct to pull away. She responded without thinking, “Is it prostitution or something? Because even if I’m penniless that’s out of the question,”

“No, not at all! It’s completely harmless. It’s just that I don’t have time to do it because of the café and all. No one will force you into anything.”

“Is it drug trafficking? Cannabis?  That’s legal in Colorado, isn’t it? Will I make enemies in the police department?”

“No, none of that,” Rose giggled, “It’s actually just taking a car up to California. And knowing your situation, I thought you could really use a ride. But if you don’t feel like it we can figure something else out.”

“And what does that entail exactly? What’s in this car?”

Rose jotted down a number on a Night Owl business card, handing it to Rey.

“You can contact Leia Skywalker using this number, she’s a friend. She’ll explain everything. I would do it myself but like I said, I just don’t have the time. And it would be a two-way trip for me anyway. You would only be driving one way, it’s totally convenient.”

Rey slipped the card into her pocket and drained her glass, rising to her feet.

“I’ll think about it, thanks a load,”

“You’re welcome, thank you too. I hope it all works out for you…”

Rey threw her bag over her shoulder, taking out her phone, she made her way to the exit.

“Yeah, I hope so too...”

She found herself on the road again. Inside her pocket, her fingers fiddled with the glossy edges of the business card.

The thought of that card in her pocket distracted her throughout the day.

She went to the Black American West Museum on California Street, to broaden her horizons on a culturally and historically relevant fieldtrip. She didn’t retain anything however; distracted by hard realities like not knowing where she was going to sleep that night.

She ate a cheeseburger and an Oreo milkshake at this “Jack in the Box” place, where the hundreds of options at the soft drink machine left her feeling indecisive. Looking at the advertisements, this Jack fellow was an odd mascot who only appealed to American sensibilities; his prim suit contrasted comically with his ballooning head, which looked like it was decorated by a child no older than five.

She travelled on foot to the Santa Fe Art District, where she wandered without really admiring the bright murals and art galleries. It was getting late and she was feeling tired due to the lingering jet lag. She needed a room for the night.

Worn out from her day-long walk, she slumped onto a bench. It was there that she saw the poster, in the corner of a shop window across the street.

_Howl at the Moon presents: Kylo & the Knights of Ren, June 30th to July 4th: Free admission_

Where had she seen that name before? _Kylo and the Knights_? What a bizarre name, but why was it so familiar?

It dawned on her. Kylo Ren was written on the bumper sticker of that pickup. The one belonging to what’s-his-face Ben Solo. It _was_ a rock band.

Well, then! Instead of finding a place to sleep, she had stumbled upon the perfect place to spend the evening…

* * *

 

When she made it through the doors at 7 PM, the place was still quiet. It was too early for the show and the scene was deserted. Rey ordered a beer and a club sandwich at the bar. Gritting her teeth, she sat down at a small, empty table in a quiet alcove. She had a good view of the stage while taking up as little space as possible. Why had she come? Objectively, she had no desire to see Ben again, the unbearable arse. And yet—and yet she was curious. If he was any good, she could ostensibly revise her judgement.

The venue filled up slowly as the music blared. The crowd was tight-knit, greeting each other with smiles and pats on the back. The drinks kept flowing all night. At first Rey thought she would garner attention, a girl sitting all alone with her beer. But the crowd thickened, and soon she was safely just another silhouette in a sea of hundreds of others.

The sound of a few stray guitar notes made her look up. The band was onstage. There were seven of them—four women and three men. Clad in that many shades of black, they left no doubt that they were a rock band. They had it all, the leather and denim, Doc Martens, miniskirts and crop tops. Their hairstyles ranged from expertly shaved to long flowing locks and intricate braids. In center stage was Ben Solo (or was it Kylo Ren?) microphone in hand. He chewed on his lip and ran his fingers through his hair, habits that Rey had already picked up on after just two encounters. He had an unusually deep, almost guttural voice—Rey would be lying if she said that her interest wasn’t piqued. The music was a perfect sort of chaos—the melodies hypnotic under the savage rhythm and relentless beat. Rey surprised herself by singing with the crowd, repeating the refrains that she hadn’t memorized yet but which descended upon her ears and lips as though they had always been there.

Realizing that she was finally smiling, Rey thought of how the past hour had rid her of her worries for the first time in a long while. It was cathartic—she felt alive again. She had no desire to leave this place, to go back out there and find a room, as common sense would dictate. She wanted nothing more than to stay there a little while longer, a carefree spirit enjoying the music as she basked in the anonymity of the crowd.

She stayed for just about the entire evening. The band descended into the crowd after the show to drink a few beers with a small group of regulars. They laughed like old friends. Rey couldn’t help but notice their guitarist. Her style was gorgeous punk, complete with an immaculate mohawk and studs in her nose and ears that contrasted beautifully with her ebony skin. She never left Ben’s side. Shoulder to shoulder, her hand on his arm, her subtle touches and accidental brushes seemed to multiply.

 _Stars, I’ve never seen a girl more madly in love,_ _too bad for her that he doesn’t look like he will ever reciprocate it._

And as though it was meant to contradict her, Ben’s hand shifted to rest on the girl’s hip, subtly pulling her against him. Rey raised the beer bottle to her lips, and found herself eye to eye with him as he looked up.

He was so shocked to see her that he began looking around, perhaps to make sure that it wasn’t one of those tacky hidden camera shows. As nothing continued to happen, he got up and walked in her direction.

The guitarist let him go, but not without seeking a reason for the sudden desertion. Her eyes locked on to Rey. Suddenly, Rey felt that she hadn’t exactly made a new friend.

“Good evening! Lovely concert there, Kylo Ren,” Rey said sweetly as Ben towered over her.

“What are _you_ doing here?”

The question could have been unexpected if she wasn’t so naively spontaneous. Rey took a large swallow of her beer.

“I saw the light and I wandered in, what a small world, right?”

“Denver is a small town. And the nighttime rock scene even is even smaller. I didn’t realize that you liked rock music.”

“Well I don’t mean to brag but I have all sorts of hobbies apart from throwing myself at moving vehicles, really. But we never got around to that. How long have you been playing?”

“A few years.”

He wasn’t talkative and Rey pursed her lips as she scratched her brain for topics of conversation. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the rather impatient guitarist and seized upon the opportunity to ask him about her.

“Lovely guitarist you’ve got there, is she your girlfriend?”

 “None of your business.”

Rey took the blow. It was fair play. She finished her beer and turned to leave.

“Well, then! Alright Ben Ren, Kylo Solo, or whatever your name is, thank you for the evening—it was a memorable performance. I had a great time but I ought to leave.”

She rose and slung her bag over her shoulder again, as it caught Ben’s eye.

“New bag? You were right to buy it, your other one was completely useless.”

“Yeah, someone was nice enough to tell me that it didn’t match my outfit. Goodnight, then.”

She had only taken a few steps toward the exit when he called out behind her:

“Where will you be staying tonight, Rey from England?”

“Nowhere. I’m a free woman in the Land of the Free.”

Her response was drowned out by the voices of late-night conversations between party diehards and smokers who congregated in packs near the door. Rey was feeling lightheaded and tipsy; she took a few wobbly steps onto the sidewalk before he called her name.

“Rey, wait!”

She turned around to see Ben cutting through the crowd in her direction, as she hit the lamppost hard. _I must really be drunk then_ , she reasoned before giving in to the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter!  
> We meet the KNIGHTS OF REN as a rock band, I love this concept. How irresistible may rock-singer Kylo Ren be? (I wouldn't even try to resist... would you?!)  
> And introducting a new character, my OC Syed Ren, which we may see again later in the story. ;-)   
> Anyone familiar with Denver among you happy crowd?


	4. Chapter 4

Rey stretched languorously, savoring the silky softness of the bed sheets and the over-plush duvet. Sunshine filtered into the room through a gap in the curtains as she blinked to adjust her eyes to the daylight.

“Wait a minute— _where am I?_ ”

As the panic set in she scrambled to get out of the sheets so ardently that she got tangled up in them and rolled out of bed without being able to stand up. Having landed on the heavily carpeted floor, she worked her limbs furiously to free herself from the mess.

She was fully dressed apart from her jumper and her shoes. She looked around the room for her belongings, spotting the clues she needed to reorient herself in the process. Bland furniture. Deco feel. Cleaned spotless. Zero trinkets anywhere—no photos, no books.

This was a hotel room.

She was on her knees looking for her shoes when a voice made her heart jump.

“Hello. Sleep well?”

She turned abruptly, propping herself up on one elbow, and stared furiously at the hulking frame of none other than Ben Solo, who had just come out of the bathroom.

“You! Did you just  _kidnap_  me—“

Ben’s expression was mocking, part amused and part exasperated.

“That’s likely what  _would_ have happened to you if I had left you unconscious on the sidewalk last night. You can never slow down, can you? Are you always this overwhelmed?”

Rey was suddenly overcome with an unspeakable sort of anguish as she traced her stomach and thighs for any sign of bruising or pain. “Did I sleep with you?” her voice trembled slightly.

He rolled his eyes. “If that were the case, I wouldn’t have bothered to redress you. I never touched you, apart from taking off your jacket and your boots. They’re over there on the chair, along with the rest of your things.”

Rey heaved a sigh of relief and closed her eyes to try to calm down, to slow down the rampant beating of her heart. “Where are we? Your place?”

“Denver. The Four Seasons. It took me forever to figure out where you were staying, Jessica didn’t know anything so she had to call Finn. It took ages to figure out that you were down at the Four Seasons and even more time to realize that you didn’t even have a room reserved, you—“

“Stop!”

“What?”

Ben’s eyes widened at the interruption, Rey was brandishing a single boot in her right hand as she got up and stalked menacingly in his direction. Her icy glare stopped him in his tracks.

“ _What_ did you just say? You actually  _called_ Jessica and Finn?”

Her voice was shaking with rage. Ben held up his hands in the universal gesture of innocence. “Look, I  _had_  to, I had to find out where you were staying, would you have preferred I take you home?”

“How’d you have the number—Jessica’s—did you go through my stuff?”

“No, no need. You called her yesterday with my phone, remember?”

“And what, exactly, did you tell her?”

“Nothing but the truth. That I found you drunk and unconscious outside a bar at two in the morning and I wanted to know where you were staying so I could take you back. That’s all, I swear.”

Rey leaned against the bed and slid to the floor as her legs threatened to give out.

“Good grief…”

Jessica had to call Finn to find out which hotel Rey booked. She had told him what she knew. The news that Rey, drunk and faded, washed up on the street and ended up in a hotel room with a stranger was making the rounds, Finn and Poe and all her friends would know.

“Listen Rey, you have to be glad that nothing truly bad happened to you. Don’t get me wrong, this whole thing is ugly, the wedding, the breakup, all of it. But you’ll self-destruct if you continue like this,”

Rey leapt at his words.

“How’d you know about the wedding? Was it Jessica who told you?”

Ben was walking back into the room armed with armed with a steaming cup of coffee which he gingerly handed her.

“Not even. You talk in your sleep. You seem to really like Finn, and I can tell that you’re dying inside, but you should really let the past die. Pick yourself up before you get into any real trouble,”

“You have some nerve don’t you?” Rey was furious. ”I never asked for any of this! I never asked for your help! You just waltzed into my life, called my ex, tucked me in like a child, and sought to give me some life advice? Who do you think you are, you’re not my father or my husband, alright? What will it take to not be treated like a kid anymore—I’m  twenty-four and I don’t need a chaperone!”

Overwhelmed by anger and humiliation, she tried to hit him but he grabbed her wrist with a sudden tenacity that startled her.

“I’m not your enemy, Rey, I’m just trying to help,”

His calmness only served to fuel her anger, she continued through gritted teeth,”You’ve gone too far, Ben Solo. You have no right to meddle in my private life or to judge me for my actions. Leave. Now.”

Ben slowly loosened his grip on her wrist, looking her straight in the eyes.

“That’s not what you said last night, when you curled up next to me, calling me  _Finn_  and begging me to kiss you.”

Rey exploded into a stream of insults, hurling the contents of the mug at his face:

“You damn prick! Get out! Get the blazes out of my room!”

Ben wiped his face with the back of his hand. His black shirt was soaked in coffee, a few droplets beading his eyebrows. He grabbed the leather jacket that was hanging from an armchair and rummaged through his pocket. He slipped a fifty dollar bill onto the nightstand.

“The word you’re looking for is “thanks”, so this is for your suitcase and now we’re even. Best of luck, Rey.”

And with one last look in her direction, he shrugged his jacket on and retreated into the corridor, the door closing behind him.

Rey waited a few minutes to see if he would come back, like Finn often did when they got into an argument. After she determined that he was well and truly gone, she took to the bathroom for a quick shower. Later, she collected her things, double-checking that her travek papers and her money were still there. She made one last sweep under the couches to find anything she could have possibly left behind (telephone, check, keys, check, socks, check) and left the room for good.

Her hair was piled up in a hasty up-do today, stray hairs escaping everywhere to frame her face. She held her key out gingerly at the reception desk, dreading the bill. The receptionist was all smooth complexion and perectly prim uniform again. She smiled knowingly at Rey as she informed her that the room was already paid for.

Rey chewed the inside of her cheek as she repeated the amount due: 430 dollars, not including tip. Was it Ben who paid? Who else, right?

She suddenly felt a pang of guilt, but she fought it off.  _She wasn’t for sale_. Flaunting his money around didn’t make meddling with her private life any more acceptable. She wasn’t impressed by his flashy car or his punk rock leather, or his overflowing pockets or his ears poking out ever so slightly beneath his dark locks of hair. Well, on second thought they were cute, and she wondered if it was a secret turn on for him if she just nibbled a— _Hey_.

 _Down, girl._  What had gotten into her just then?

Well. She hated to admit it, but he was right. She couldn’t keep going like this. Floating around here and there with no purpose and no itinerary for days on end. Her fingers accidentally brushed against a bit of glossy paper in her pocket. She realized it was the business card that Rose had left her. She had completely forgotten.

_Leia Skywalker_

970-571-3350

Still at the entrance of the Four Seasons with no idea of what direction to take, she dialed the number.

A woman's voice answered. An older woman. Rey stifled her surprise—she had expected a punk, an artist, or some strange combination of the two who hired strangers to drive cars. But an elderly woman? What kind of woman could she be, if not the wife of an ageing Italian mafia boss?

She hurriedly explained that she had met Rose who had told her about a car to drive to California in exchange for payment. The woman suggested that she come for coffee, slowly dictating an address. Rey hesitated a moment. This was the point of no return. Should she go or back out now? Was she going to be kidnapped and forced into a prostitution ring? Locked up by MK Ultra 2.0? Exploited by the mafia and drowned in the bottom of a river with a block of concrete chained to her feet? Or simply have a tea with a gran who no longer had the energy to drive 3500 kilometers?

 _Here goes nothing_.

* * *

 

The taxi dropped her off at the entrance of a trailer park, a sort of wasteland littered with mobile homes and manufactured houses. All kinds of rubbish piled high on the roadside: old bicycles, rusty trolleys, and other garbage languishing in the dust. Tattered clothes hung from clotheslines that swayed in the wind.

Rey remained frozen in front of the sad spectacle of an area of residence. Was it a trap?

As a safety measure, she took a screenshot of her GPS location on Google Maps and texted it to Jessica, with the name and number of Leia Skywalker. If she disappeared, her friend could at least alert the police.

His phone rang immediately. It was Jessica, asking for an explanation. Rey kept the conversation brief and put her phone on airplane mode so as not to be disturbed. She did not want to talk right now.

With her bag on her shoulder, she stepped onto the dusty road, looking for numbers on the houses. She realized she was being naive: this was no fancy suburb managed by the municipality! The few houses there had probably been hastily constructed and certainly not numbered neatly and precisely. She approached a woman, clad in denim and cowboy boots, who was smoking a cigarette on the steps of her porch.

“Hello, do you happen to know a Leia Skywalker who lives around here?”

The woman gestured with her chin to one of the tiny houses a little further down the sreet. Approaching it, Rey found it relatively elegant, the exterior well-painted, with colorful flowers overflowing from planters arranged along the windows. No rubbish, no rust, just a modest little house whose occupant was obviously very attentive.

Rey sighed with relief. She blamed herself for her hasty judgement. Not having money and living modestly did not make you a bad person. This Leia Skywalker had no money to throw out the windows, obviously,  _unlike Ben Solo_ , her subconscious snickered. She was probably harmless.  _Or was she?_ Stars, she had to stop already.

Rey knocked on the door.

Moments later, a little woman stood before her. She was no more than five feet tall, clad in a long indigo dress with matching bangles. His dark gray hair was tucked into a complicated braid that rose above her head, adding ten centimeters to her height. Her face was wrinkled but her features were delicate, and Rey thought she must have been much more beautiful in her youth. And above all, her eyes were bright and her figure poised and graceful. She was no gran.

Leia Skywalker invited Rey to come in, sit down, and poured her a cup of tea that smelled distinctly of bergamot. The little house was clean and tidy. Framed photos of a young woman in military regalia or a pilot's uniform were hanging on the wall, and Rey realized with amazement that they were all various portraits of Leia, in her youth.

On the couch, an old gray cat yawned sleepily and on the carpet, an orange dog with a curved tail had approached Rey, eyes begging for a pat. Rey let the dog sniff her hand to get to know her, then smiled and patted her head affectionately.

“Well, hello! Hello! What's your name?”

“Her name is BB8,” answered Leia, sitting on a worn wicker chair. My brother’s dog, actually. She is the one I need you to take to San Francisco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, we're back!  
> I'm sorry this took so long. My translator is doing this for free and out of pure kindness, on top of her college classes and job search. So let's just be happy she is doing this and take each chapter when it comes! :-)
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy the story. I love BB-8 as a doggo, it fits her perfectly, she's so cute and friendly, I want to rub her belly and scratch her head!
> 
> Thank you for reading me. <3


	5. Chapter 5

“Why name her BB8?”

“She was the eighth of a litter—we tried to call her anything else but that’s all she would respond to, so BB8 stuck,”

Rey was happy to give the dog a few scratches. The big ball of affection didn’t hesitate to throw an old tennis ball at her feet, along with a sock, a rubber duck, and even a fork she had pilfered from the kitchen in place of a stick.

The duck squeaked as she grabbed it, and Rey burst into a laugh of pure joy.  _How_ could she have been so mistrustful of an old woman who owned such an adorable dog?

“Why did your brother leave you his dog?”

“She was injured by a hit-and-run and I rushed her to the vet, but he eventually had to leave her to get back to his professional obligations at the time. It hurt him to leave her behind but we both knew she was in good hands. Since then I’ve been looking for an opportunity to take her back, but I’m in no shape to make the journey myself anymore.”

Rey said nothing as she watched the charming dog go round and round on the carpet as she waited for Rey to play with her some more. Leia put down her steaming teacup.

“So, Rose sent you, right? Are you close friends?”

 “Not at all, actually. I just happened to be at her café at the right time. We talked a bit, I mentioned my travels and my personal life, and she said you have a job to give me,” Rey chuckled, going a little red.

“I was worried it was a con—drugs, guns, something illegal. But everything’s alright, I love BB8. I’d love to take her on the route with me, she’ll be good company. Always a good idea to have a dog when travelling solo. “

“Well, I’m not sure she’ll be an effective guard dog, you know,” Leia smiled.

“Oh, no worries, her presence is enough, at worst she’ll be more bark than bite! How urgently would I have to take her to San Francisco?”

“She’s already six months late, a few more weeks wouldn’t matter…are you comfortable with the detour?”

Rey tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she adjusted her topknot, ruminating on her response.

“I wanted to go up to Yellowstone National Park, and then Montana. Take a trek, do some rafting or some horse riding, something like that. I also wanted to check out some ghost towns, see a rodeo, maybe a powwow? Then make my way down to Idaho and Nevada. Take my time, you know. Would that be a problem for BB8?”

“Not as long as she makes it back to Luke—my brother—in one piece,” Leia waved a hand dismissively, “I’m sure it’s going to be a lovely trip. I wish I was your age so I could go globetrotting too,”

Rey laughed, glancing from one photo to another. “Weren’t you in the army? I’m sure you traveled a lot…on that note, Rose mentioned a car?”

Leia got up and motioned for Rey to follow her. “Yes, it too belonged to my brother. You’ll need to take it to California too, and it’s not doing quite as well as our friend BB8. I’m afraid it’s not exactly the most recent make and model,”

Rey followed Leia outside the house. They were taking a walk, it seemed. BB8 trotted along happily, occasionally snapping at the insects circling in the plants. It sat in a five by five plot of land in the middle of the garden on the other side of the house. Rey had mistaken it for a supplementary garbage disposal unit. An oldsmobile cruiser—exactly like the ones that at one point had been the very height of the 70s. It screamed vintage, from the boxy silhouette to the oversized bonnet which was as long as the boot itself.  The car had been white at some point, though the paint had certainly faded. It was complete with brown accents and a classic wood motif on the side, which made Rey cringe. She turned to Leia with a disapproving look.

“You have got to be joking here.  I thought your brother left you this hunk of junk to dispose of at some junkyard, not to give right back to him,”

“Well then,” Leia huffed, “all the more reason to do it, right? You know me, if he wanted to make a trash compactor out of me I  _really_ want to see his face when this baby shows up in his driveway again.”

Rey wasn’t sure if Leia was about to make a huge mistake. “This thing surely isn’t functioning anymore, is it? You’d make more money selling it to a junkyard than letting it collect dust in your garden.” Rey looked around again, “You could plant a lovely vegetable garden or whatnot instead, I’m sure you have a green thumb,”

“It was my husband’s,” Leia said wistfully, and Rey realized that she wasn’t kidding. “It was his pride and joy, he would fix it up himself back in the day. He loved that thing so much. And the life we had, all the crazy things we would do in that car…I didn’t have the heart to scrap it, it would be like killing him all over again.”

“He died? I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you—“

“It’s fine,” Leia said, running her hand across the side panel in a gentle caress. “You had no way of knowing. He and my brother went the whole nine yards in this thing. It’ll get back to him somehow,”

“Alright, fine,” Rey conceded, “I understand, I’ll take the hunk of junk and the dog to San Francisco, no worries.  Do you have the papers as well?”

“Yes, they’re inside, let’s head back,”

After reviewing the vehicle registration and the owner’s manual (all of which were still up to date, not that she would have bet so) and following multiple assurances and other formalities, Rey found herself feeling something new inside. This would give her the solo road trip she always wanted, and an adorable dog to keep her company, in literally the most vintage American car she could have ever imagined.  She had always been a good driver and a car person, so she looked forward to driving a proper stick shift. It had been a good while since she last drove one and it only added to the excitement of the trip. Against all odds and expectations, Rey was actually quite a clever and resourceful  mechanic, thank you very much. She knew how to change the tires and the oil, and how to identify the source of most engine trouble. Simple things, really, but things that she would almost certainly have to do with this car. As for the rest of it, she would definitely have to invest in a good pair of sunglasses and a very wide-brimmed hat because the interior wasn’t air-conditioned at all. And water. Lots and lots of water. Maybe even a jerry or two of motor oil and petrol. And an emergency kit in case she really did get a flat tire. She was finally beginning to get goosebumps about this. Nevertheless, one detail remained to be settled.

“Pardon me if I’m being too frank Leia, but Rose mentioned some compensation, is that right?”

Leia was currently reassembling a dossier full of documents that Rey had decided not to take. She put it down gently. “Yes, I’ll be providing you with 500 dollars up front for your services. That should also cover the gaz change. Luke will give you the rest once he’s sure that BB8 is safe and sound.”

One thousand dollars wouldn’t cover all Rey’s costs, what with meals and motels and extra gaz. But she could make do, considering that a few days ago she was looking at spending twice as much just to loan a car. It would work out. It didn’t have to be a job per se, it could be…community service, absolutely.

Rey nodded, and Leia closed the dossier with a soft click.

“I’ll leave tomorrow then,” Rey said, deep in thought, “It’ll give me a whole day to make some purchases for the rest of the trip. Would you mind if I took the car? It could be a test drive as well…”

The afternoon was filled with what could only be called  _intense shopping_. Her list consisted of mechanic’s tools, camping gear, sunblock, ration packs, a first-aid kit, dog biscuits, and even a cheap mountable stereo. She then purchased several CDs for the long road ahead, including a three disc deluxe album of the one and only KYLO & THE KNIGHTS OF REN, which she would no doubt regret impulse-buying later.

The car was at best dusty and stale, despite the little tree-shaped air freshener hanging from the front mirror. Too little too late to undo a decade’s worth of rotting in Leia Skywalker’s garden.  Rey took it upon herself to take it to a carwash and have it cleaned from the inside out. There was no telling what they would find. Earlier she had found a toy in between the back seats—a shiny red racecar that she’d shoved into the GB.

Getting ready took up most of her afternoon. She packed the car up with all her supplies and even made a little “doggie corner” for BB8 in the back seat. It was complete with a crochet blanket in case she got cold, a food bowl, her squeaky rubber duck, a tennis ball, and a single shoe. Everything was ready by the time that Leia called them back inside for dinner.

It was as though Rey was at her own grandmother’s house, despite the fact that she had only really known the woman for a couple of hours. She came back into the cottage to find a steaming bowl of spaghetti waiting for her. After a long day’s work, it was truly heaven.

“So, do you know Rose well, then?” Rey managed to ask after she had finished stuffing her face and regaining her strength.

Leia took a while to respond, prompting Rey to wonder what was so hard about the question. Finally, Leia raised her eyes after a long moment of reflection. “She and I both operate in a charity organization based out of Denver. That’s how I know her.”

“Oh! What kind of charity? meals for the poor or something?”

“Not exactly…”

Rey waited politely for an explanation but Leia seemed reluctant to answer. She pressed on, “Well? Come on now, surely you could elaborate a little?”

“It’s called Earth Soldiers,” Leia responded suddenly. She wasn’t smiling anymore, much to Rey’s surprise. “You could call us a group of…hardcore environmental rights activists.”

“So like GreenPeace? Protesting power plants-and chaining  yourself to property sort of activists?”

“Sure, you can think of it like that if you want,”

Rey was all full belly and drooping eyelids by then; she failed to notice the tension building in the room.

“But isn’t that dangerous at your age? Can you still attend the happenings or whatever they are?” Rey continued.

Leia’s gaze hardened imperceptibly. “I’ve spent my whole life fighting and I want to go down swinging,” she replied.

“Ah, I see. I imagined that after a life as full as yours you would have liked to take a break, but everyone is different, I guess,”

In response Leia simply began picking up her own empty plate so that she could start attending to the dishes. Rey tried her best to help by drying the dishes afterward and putting them away. Later, after spending a few minutes on her phone, Rey yawned loudly and excused herself for the night.

“Sorry, I should probably get to bed. May I set up the camping tent in the garden?”

“Just set up in the living room, that way you won’t get cold or have to take down a tent tomorrow. And you won’t have to hear the drunk ravings of the neighbors next door,”

“Alright, BB8 and I will leave after breakfast in the morning, goodnight Leia,”

“Good night, young lady.”

Rey rested her head on her new inflatable camping pillow, curled up snugly in her brand new sleeping bag. The carpeted floor would do for now. She was going to have to get used to sleeping on the floor soon. BB8 curled up into a ball too, sleeping on the couch after realizing that her dinner bowl was nowhere to be found (it was still in the car). Rey fell into a deep sleep. This was the first night she had not been anxious about the future, barring of course the night she was too drunk to remember—that didn’t count.

Late into the night, a coyote wandered the sleeping trailer park, an unfortunate shrew in its jaws.

Much further away, in the heart of Denver, Ben Solo performed another concert at  _Howl at the Moon_ , and Rose left the night shift at the  _Night Owl Café_ to her sister, Paige.

Their next door neighbor George Watto had started his nightly ramblings no later than three in the morning, eventually falling asleep at his own front door, fully dressed and armed with a beer bottle like a true American hero. In the quiet little cottage next door, Rey slept soundly in the living room while Leia found no sleep in the bedroom next to it.

Tomorrow, she would send that girl off to Luke in San Francisco. It was too late to go back. After years of careful political maneuvering, her entire life’s work hinged on the whims of a random British tourist who decided to vacation here of all places. What if they discovered her little honey pot scheme? What if they laid a hand on…

It was somewhere in the middle of this tiring web of entirely disquieting thoughts that Leia Skywalker fell into a short and fitful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Still here, still slow, but again, I have a translator doing this for free so I'm grateful! Every chapter that drops feels like christmas.
> 
> So what do you think?  
> What is Leia up to? Friend, Ennemy? Can she be trusted? share your thoughts!


	6. Chapter 6

It was the tempting smell of coffee that roused Rey from her slumber.

It took her a second to realize where she was and why there was a dog curled up against her sleeping bag. Stretching her neck and shoulders, she unraveled her hair and looked up at Leia. She had placed two steaming mugs of coffee on the tiny kitchen table.

“Mind if I take a quick shower before I leave?I don’t know when I’ll get another chance on the road...”

With Leia’s approval she found herself in the minuscule bathroom, where she washed her hair as economically as possible. Not a drop of water wasted—after all, she wouldn’t want to freeload off of a kind woman evidently already on a budget. 

Afterwards, she checked to make sure that she left nothing behind (oil? Check. Water? Check. Music? Check. Phone? Charged up and ready to go. BB8? BB8...? Rey looked over to see her taking care of business in a nearby alley. She ran back soon enough with her tail wagging happily. Leia paused to hug the dog one last time and Rey could have sworn her eyes were glistening. Rey waited for them a few meters away, standing by the doorway as she gave them time to say goodbye. After plenty of hugs and scratches, Leia put a slim red leather collar around the dog’s neck. Attached to it with tiny hooks, a small metal plaque engraved with the words “Please Call Luke Skywalker 909-667-5721”. 

She then handed Rey a piece of paper with Luke’s address in San Francisco. She had also written his phone number, even though the collar ostensibly took care of that. Rey entered the number into her contacts anyway and put the paper away in the glove box. 

Rey opened the car door and gently ushered the dog into the back seat.

 “BB8, in the car! Come on, in! Inside, let’s go! That’s right, good dog!”

BB8 had jumped into the car with puppy-like enthusiasm, rediscovering her blanket and her basket of toys. Rey gave her a pat to assure her that everything was fine before closing the door. It was time to leave.

Rey approached Leia, who was wiping away a tear with the back of her hand.

“You sure you’ll be okay without BB8?”

“I’ll still have Artoo, even if he doesn’t do much besides eat and nap. We’ll be fine,”

Rey realized she was taking about the cat. She conceded, smiling.

“Look, thanks for everything Leia...the road is a lot less frightening with BB8 by my side. I promise to take care of her,”

“Be careful out there. Send me an update now and then.”

“I will, promise.”

Leia opened her arms and Rey hugged her tightly—it was a little awkward at first but it transformed into a warm embrace. Rey felt a particular tenderness in this gesture, it was the hug of someone who hadn’t hugged anyone in a very long time.

Rey looked up suddenly, breaking the hug.

“I’m an idiot, I forgot to buy a GPS!” She exclaimed, realizing she didn’t know which direction she would be driving in.

She put her hands on her face in exasperation, chastising herself for being so distracted and trying not to let the panic take over.

“Right, no use in beating myself up, I didn’t have enough money left to buy a new one anyway. I’ll have to find a state map. It’ll be all vintage, like the car.”

Luckily, she didn’t have an exact itinerary. She knew that she wanted to get to Yellowstone, which would take a while. The park wasn’t merely a stop, it was as large as Yorkshire and equally difficult to miss.

She looked up a petrol station on Google maps, ironically so that she could buy a physical map for her journey. She turned the key in the ignition and the engine rumbled to a start.

Rey waved one last time to Leia through the open car window, who looked lonelier than ever standing alone out on the porch of her little cottage. 

The car emitted a cloud of dust as it left the trailer park and started a long journey. BB8 scratched at the back seat nervously, worried that Leia had disappeared from view. Rey extended a hand to pet her reassuringly.

“Everything will be fine good girl, we’re going home now,” she said gently.

The weather was gorgeous that third-of-July morning, as Rey took I-25 toward Cheyenne, Wyoming. With the breeze in her hair and a smile on her lips, her whole being felt lighter. It seemed like she was looking at the world through new eyes, reveling in an optimism that she hadn’t felt in weeks. 

She basked in the beauty of the land, the winding plains dotted with crimson outcroppings, the glistening skyscrapers which formed the city’s spine and slowly gave way to the mountains in the west, whose snowy peaks overlooked a red and white prairie speckled with farms. 

As she bypassed the city, she spotted the a few buffalo roaming peacefully on a nature reserve. She also saw camels, two deer on a ridge, and what appeared to be antelopes (or whatever those pale deer like creatures with tiny horns were called).  

A biker on a Harley Davidson sped past her, hair flying and engine roaring in equal measure. In the distance, a freight train of unimaginable length whistled by. Everything was new to her, every sound, every color. She was glad to leave Denver behind. She was tired of the crowd, and the fumes, the noise and the pollution. 

BB8 was still lamenting her fate in the back seat, whining now and then. Rey felt her heart constrict. How could she get across that they were going home to see Luke? Preoccupied with these thoughts, she completely missed the exit to Wyoming, which was supposed to be the second leg of their road trip. 

In hindsight she would look back on this moment and regret not registering the symbolism of it all. 

Around 9 AM she skirted Cheyenne and began the 400 kilometer trek, due west, to the park. It slowly dawned on Rey that she was finally alone with her thoughts—something which hadn’t happened since she left London, since the breakup. 

Before, she had purposefully kept busy in order to stop thinking. All action, all the time, running full speed ahead. First she had cursed Finn to hell and back, then she had cried a river on Jessica’s shoulder, taken that flight, wallowed in that hotel room, confronted Ben Solo, met Rose, attended that concert, wandered those museums...it was time to slow down.

Facing eight hours of transit, alone amidst the steel and asphalt with no one but a dog (who was finally calm) for company, Rey let her thoughts run free.

She did not try to repress them, she did not try to smother them. She was no longer afraid of her unconscious, no longer afraid of regrets, remorse and tears. She would have to bring Finn's stuff back: his clothes, his records, his films and his books.

She did not seen Poe coming, waltzing into her life narrative. Or did she? Had she always seen this coming? Finn and Poe met in high school. They had been on the same football team. They had essentially been friends for forever. When Rey entered Finn’s life, it had been through a hypocritical turn to dating apps. They had bonded over a mutual love for Terry Pratchett novels and Poe had even become her older brother of sorts. Poe had no bitterness, no animosity toward her, there was just a unique brotherhood between the two men that seemed to make Finn happy. Should she have seen it coming, then? In his eyes? In his nonsensical rambles whenever he got drunk? And how could she have ignored the signs all these years, of the feelings Poe had harbored for the man who had been part of his life for so long?

She had finished her degree in graphic design, and right after getting her diploma, she had moved out of Jessica’s to start living with her brand new boyfriend. He was an engineer who was three years older than her and already making a living.

Rey considered that she had never been alone. Before moving in with her ex-future-husband she had lived with Jessica for most of her adult life. What was she afraid of? Being abandoned again? Getting bored? Wasting away? Was she always going to live in the shadow of others? Didn’t she have any ambitions or goals for herself?

This trip was a first, after all. The first time she did anything alone, the first time no one took her hand, the first time she was ever truly free. Still on the highway, her eyes widened at a passing sign: “Smallest town in America, Bufford, WY. Population : 1". Behind it, a little shack, boarded up with wooden planks and metal sheets. 

Beyond, rolling plains, dry and arid masses tinted with yellow and ochre, and not a single tree. On the highway drove an endless parade of monstrous chrome-plated trucks, cars hauling camping trailers, and bikers wearing bandannas instead of helmets. And all the fauna of this strange landscape seemed to ignore the ever-present six-by-four posters lining the highway. Not the one touting MacRoy and associates Laramie attorneys, nor the other claiming “God exists, call 1-800-FOR-TRUTH”. 

BB8’s groaning derailed Rey’s bitter train of thought, and she glanced at the back seat. The dog was rolling around restlessly and yes, Rey thought now was a good time to take a break. It would be too early for lunch but at least BB could stretch her legs. Rey kept an eye out for the next exit, or the next petrol station. She used her turn signal to get off the highway at Elk Mountain, a rural outpost sleeping under the desert dust like a cat lounging in the sun. 

It was almost a ghost town. A few rusted pickups, a red-brick general store that could have come straight out of the Buffalo Bill era, and half a dozen wooden shacks, in true American spirit. They looked like they couldn’t even stand the first winds of a storm. There must be storms here at some point, she thought, in the winter at least. 

How did these people live? Effectively two hours away from the nearest civilization, at that? Rey shrugged. She wouldn’t want to question anyone, if there existed anyone here, that is. Rey parked her car (yes, it was hers now, for the time being) on the side of the road. She opened the door for BB8, who was clamoring to escape. But Rey had predicted this, and she blocked the door with her body as she leashed the dog before letting her out. 

She would have preferred to let BB8 roam, but she couldn’t risk it. What if BB ran away across the desert to join Leia Skywalker in Denver? What if she chased after grasshoppers onto the highway, and subsequently fell prey to one of those gleaming trucks on the highway? She would flattened like a pancake. Both of them had to tame each other in a way, and that would take time. Meanwhile, Rey filled the dog's bowl with water and let her drink up. She covered up all the supplies in the car to avoid theft and locked the door. 

They took a short walk. BB8 began sniffing at everything on the ground, tail bouncing and ears perking, until she paused to relive herself against the tire of an old truck. Rey looked around, expecting the owner to come up, a rifle in one hand and a cowboy hat in the other, threatening to shoot both of them.

But no, everything was silent, or as silent as it could be amidst the ceaseless chirping of the cicadas.

Eventually, the heat was overwhelming and the arid wind left Rey parched. Time to go back.

Gingerly walking back to the car, Rey hesitated. It had to be fifty degrees Celsius inside, the car was a suffocating metal monstrosity whose only upside was relative speed. She could feel the sweat drops running down her body.

Yet another hour's drive took her to Sainclair, a city huddled around a monstrous refinery, whose black, smoking towers rose to the sky like Isengard in Lord of the Rings.

 "The whole bloody city must live in this factory," Rey thought, as she made herself comfortable inside Penny's Diner, a chrome-clad hole-in-the-wall with a decidedly vintage feel to it.


	7. Chapter 7

After finishing her cheese burger, ( _No, please, no more refills_ ) Rey called Jessica. She had to lie about the details of her setbacks and the circumstances that had led her to haul a dog on a 3,500 kilometer road trip. She explained that she had loaned a car and was improvising from there. Yes, she was doing better. Yes, morale was high for now. No, she hadn’t run into any guns or cowboys (yet), but she had seen buffalos (from afar) and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. Alright, she would send pictures. 

Placing the phone in front of her, she smiled as innocently as possible at the front camera and hit “send” on the photo.

Everything was fine on Betterton Street according to Jessica. Finn and Poe had been talking the talk, they apparently spent an entire afternoon discussing Rey-drunk-in-the-street and Ben-the-tall-dark-mystery-man. They unanimously wanted to know:  who  was this guy and what was the  nature  of their  relationship ?

Rey rolled her eyes. He wasn’t anyone in particular. He was a random fellow from Denver who was both attractive and repulsive, but in his defense they had started off on the wrong foot, that’s all. 

“No, Jess, I didn’t sleep with him. But if you think it’s hilarious that Finn believes I did, go ahead and have fun with it. You can tell him that I spent a night of passion with Ben Solo, rockstar and lead singer of KYLO & THE KNIGHTS OF REN. That way he’ll realize that I don’t miss him and that I’m doing just fine without him. And if he gets jealous—even better. Ask him how he thought I felt when I imagined him in bed with Poe.”

She ended the call there.

She finished her fries, covering the top of her glass with her palm to stop the waitress from refilling it again (had they gone mad here?) as she scrolled through her phone lazily. She was feeling nice and comfy in this 50s style greasy spoon—with its abundance of zinc, black and white tiled floors and red and pink neon signs. There was WiFi and air conditioning, and she balked at the idea of returning to her oven of a car. 

Her finger traced over the selfie she had just taken. Her cheeks were rosy and her eye bags less prominent, how many days had she managed without crying? In the background sat a tall blonde woman in a buzz cut, looking straight in her direction. 

_Photobomb_ ,  Rey thought glumly. But the woman’s piercing blue gaze was locked onto the camera, as if by design. As if they were both looking at the same thing. Rey turned around to see if she was still there. She wasn’t. 

A family of four were helping themselves to a small basket of nuggets. At the counter, a lone diner in jeans and a tank top sipped on a drink.

Shrugging, she pocketed her phone and tapped her palms against her thighs to get BB8’s attention. BB was also taking advantage of the air conditioning as she layed stretched out underneath the table. She got up clumsily once Rey gently tugged on her collar.

It was time to hit the road again, they could manage a few hundred kilometers by nightfall. The vast land sprawled in front of Rey’s eyes once more, set to the particular rock rhythm of Kylo & the Knights. Little by little, their surroundings transformed into the desert. Yellow earth littered with spiny shrubs and cacti.

She passed Rock Springs at 2:30 PM, taken by the frankly apocalyptic view. 

Columns of smoke billowed overhead, likely from mines or factories. Rusted trucks rolled by. It was a sprawling urban hellscape straight out of Mad Max. The empty mountain side inspired a certain sort of fantasy—it gave new meaning to “the hills have eyes”. 

A few more kilometers to the west and she would have hit Utah. But Rey deviated to the north. As she approached the crest of the hill, she was stupefied. She had stumbled upon Eden Valley, surrounded by forest and freshwater rivers. Rey was slack-jawed. She hadn’t seen this much green since she left England. The feeling was almost spiritual and she could feel her eyes watering. 

A few hours later, after two bathroom breaks for the dog and a mini-walk, they crossed city limits into Jackson Hole. It was a ski resort town. Nestled at the foot of the green slopes, the town was the perfect summertime spot for hiking tours, hunters, and weary Yellowstone travelers. The hotels were pricey and the food was mediocre at best but it didn’t seem to matter. 

She obtained a camping spot just outside the city at Curtis Canyon Campground. BB8 wandered as Rey set up the tent and her mattress for the night. Having unloaded the bulk of her belongings from the car, she was finally able to notice an inscription on the mat lining the boot: “MILLENIUM FALCON”. She smiled. Didn’t all pilots give their baby a name? This old hunk of junk had just won her over. 

And so Rey piloted the re-baptized Millennium Falcon into the city in search of dinner. She parked the car in the heart of town, taking a selfie in front of a massive wooden archway decorated solely with deer antlers, then made her way into a noisy yet poorly-lit bar. 

Seated at the counter, she ordered a light beer and a Caesar salad while she texted Jessica. She attached the selfie she snapped in the adjoining room. 

And then she saw the shadow.  What the hell? 

She zoomed in on her screen, heart pounding. A blurry silhouette stood a few meters behind her—the same woman with cropped blonde hair. 

_No way, I must be seeing things_.

Rey looked up from her phone and scanned her surroundings. Any second now, she would see the mysterious woman in the room. But she didn’t.

_ I must be imagining all this. _

But the doubt crept in. She did her best to bottle the anxiety, to think of something else. But the question remained—who was this woman? Was this just a coincidence? After all, she had followed the typical route from Denver to Yellowstone and Penny’s Diner had been pretty much exactly in the middle of the way...other travelers could have stopped there for lunch too, it was totally plausible. 

She scarfed down her salad, still deep in though. A woman offered to buy her a drink but she politely declined. 

Afterwards, she placed some cash on the bar-top and thanked the bartender. Her heart was pounding again as she went out onto the street, there was a gut feeling she just couldn’t shake. She turned the corner to get to the car and—

“Hey! What are you doing?!”

A tall woman,  the same one with the short blonde hair, was leaning over her car door and tugging at the handle. She jumped at Rey’s tone, scrambling away.

Rey felt icy beads of sweat slide down her spine. She hadn’t been imagining anything, she  knew  something was off. So much for coincidence. Furious, she marched over to the woman and raised her voice even more:  

"Are you trying to break into my car? I'm going to call the police!"

The woman held her hands up in the universal gesture of innocence. "Well excuse me, I just thought it was mine. There's no need to make a big deal," she said simply. 

" Really ? You also happen to have a dingy 1977 Oldsmobile with handpainted brown paneling on the front? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Screaming like a fury helped Rey cover up her insecurity. Why was this woman following her? What was she up to? 

BB8 was barking furiously at the woman too, and Rey noted to congratulate her later. She had caught on very quickly. 

The woman rolled her eyes and turned on her heels, turning the corner and disappearing into the street. Rey followed her, red-faced, before deciding to let her go.

She reconsidered calling the police as she held her phone once more. Who would believe her story? Some girl from Britain being chased by a mystery woman for 800 kilometers, a futile attempt to steal a car that didn't leave a scratch? They would surely laugh at her. She was wasting time. She had to move on by herself. 

All those who bore witness to this altercation in the town square quickly turned away. They avoided the seething girl with the English accent and hastily took their leave. 

Rey, heart racing and temples pulsing, bent down to pet BB8 in praise. BB was still in attack mode--growling and baring her teeth.

"Bravo, BB8. You did it, you protected me, good girl. That's a good girl,"

BB yelped and licked her nose.

"Come on, let's go. But first, I'll have to buy you a treat."

Google indicated there was an Albertson's grocery store that closed at midnight on Buffalo Way. There, she bought fried chicken bites for BB8 and cookies for herself. For breakfast...and dessert. Okay, she bought two packets of them. It was high time for some comfort food. 

Something on the bulletin board just outside the store (boasting public service announcements and local yard sales) caught Rey's eye. It was a flyer that she read twice to make sure she wasn't mistaken. 

** KYLO & THE KNIGHTS OF REN **

** WEST TOUR **

A sticker on the flyer displayed upcoming show dates at Jackson Hole. 

** The Mangy Moose, July 5th **

She grimaced. She was driving around randomly in an area that was roughly 10 million kilometers squared, populated by about 325 million people. But she kept running into the same man in one small town or another. It was infuriating.

It was the third of July. She decided not to linger around Jackson Hole, she wanted to put as much distance as possible between herself and the blonde madwoman. Too bad for the concert. 

It's not like she wanted to go anyway, she didn't want to run into Ben Solo again at all. Nor did she want to see the look on his face when he saw her out in public again. 

_ Who are you trying to convince?  _

She waved away the pesky whispering voice in her head. It was time to go to bed. 

On the way back to camp, she fed BB the fried chicken bites. She took down her tent and instead set up her sleeping gear in the back of the car. She didn't have as much legroom, but at least no one would be able to get away with breaking in unannounced.

Her phone was at eight percent battery. She had to recharge immediately. There was no way she would spend the night alone in a camp with no phone. She wouldn't live to see the day.

She slipped into her jacket and left BB8 to guard mothership-Millenium-Falcon while she headed to the camp entrance. Everything was closed, with the exception of an ill-lit vending machine. She found an outlet and sat on the floor to wait for her phone to finish charging. She was there for at least half an hour. 

She couldn't stop thinking about why anyone would want that car. What was so special about it?

Her fingers trembled as she dialed Leia Skywalker--if anyone would know it would be her. 

_ 970-571-3350 _

There was no dial tone. Just a robotic voice informing her that  the phone number you have dialed is not available . Rey was immediately taken aback.  What the hell? She had certainly dialed this number before. 

She tried again. Same number, same error message. 

Her hands became unsteady. Unavailable? She had called that number barely a couple days ago. She had met Leia Skywalker in the flesh--ate with her and slept at her house. What did this mean? Was Leia using a burner phone to keep in touch with Rose, was this deliberate? But to what end?

The long-term implications of such machinations were beyond Rey, who was already battling anxious thoughts. What was it, what did they want? 

Suddenly, she remembered the existence of Luke Skywalker. She had his number too, it was literally engraved into the dog's collar tag. 

She dialed it shakily. 

_ 909-667-5721 _

_ The phone number you have dialed is not available.  _

 

Rey let out a scream and threw her phone down. It clattered against the damp floor. 

She got up, heart racing and head pounding. Her breath was short and her hands were freezing. 

Who could she talk to? Jessica?

Apart from worrying the living daylights out of her, there was nothing to be done. Rey had Leia's physical address since she had texted it to Jessica, but what was she going to do with it? Call the police to report the car? Tell them about the cute dog and the impressive change of number? It was ridiculous. No one would be able to help.

What were her other options?

She had to take the dog to the address in San Francisco, an address she hoped still existed, because the corresponding telephone number was clearly garbage.

Could she back out? She still had to get to San Francisco by the 15th. How was she supposed to change plans if she didn't have plans in the first place? She had mentioned Yellowstone to Leia but not much else. 

Abandon the dog? No, the poor animal had no way to fend for herself. Abandon the car? She could hardly continue on foot. She looked down.

Her phone case had been partially damaged due to the fall. 

She bent down gingerly to pick it up. Examining it to make sure that the phone itself was intact, she noticed a slip of paper sticking out between the case and the phone itself. Her eyes widened as she pulled it out with her fingertips. She turned it over to read the back:

 

_ Ben _

_ 970-663-8876 _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG! What's going on?!  
> What is Leia up to?  
> What would you do? What should Rey do? Opinions?   
> :-D


	8. Chapter 8

The telephone blared again. He was standing in front of the bay windows which, fittingly, looked out onto the San Francisco Bay. It was drowning in fog as usual, in the swirling tendrils re-emerging from the ocean. The red headed man stood frozen in place. The ringing recommenced. He didn’t make a move. It began once more. He ignored it. 

 

Once the device on his polished desk finally shut up, Hux checked his watch briefly and retrieved a cellphone from his pocket. She responded.

 

“Phasma.”

 

“I’m listening.”

 

“I hear there has been a development.”

 

“Everything has been set in motion. The car is heading north. Ms. Skywalker has booked a flight, the Tico sisters closed up shop and are headed south.”

 

“Where are you?”

 

“Following the car. The driver is a girl I don’t recognize. She must be a new recruit. English accent, has a dog with her. Haven’t been able to ID her yet.”

 

“Photo?”

 

“I sent it to you.”

 

“I’ll look into it. Anything else?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Her breathing quickened as though her heart had just skipped a beat. Hux froze, not daring to breathe. She would have to spit it out sooner or later. 

 

“Sir, I...I was caught red handed. The girl made a scene out in the middle of the street too, she’ll probably gut me alive if she sees me again.”

 

Hux cursed under his breath. Whoever this girl was she was a fresh recruit for Earth Soldiers. Ever since he began dealing with these eco terrorists he had noticed that their mascot of a car rarely ever appeared, and even when it did it was always in the hands of the old-timers. And no one that he knew of ever got close enough to Leia Skywalker.

 

The moles that he had planted with care, excellent professionals like Bazine Netal, Boba Fett,  or Lando Clarissian never approached Skywalker level. Not even after months of distributing flyers and manifestos as stand-in rebel scum. Some were even kidnapped or worse...others switched sides. Hux slid his thumb over the screen to observe the photo Phasma had sent.

 

His eyes widened. She was young, likely under thirty, clad in denim and boots. Her demeanor entirely jaded. 

 

She had been observed talking discreetly to Rose Tico, then spotted again at Leia Skywalker’s hideout, and finally caught in the act of driving the Millennium Falcon. 

 

That made no sense. The heart of their pathetic born-again organization was in Denver, centered around old woman Skywalker. Her every move was monitored. Where did this girl come from? Who had trained her? How was she able to escape all of the eyes on the field until now?

 

He closed his eyes as his hand tightened into a fist. He had to regain control of his breathing. He held the phone to his ear again.

 

“Phasma.”

 

She was still on the line. No one hung up on Armitage Hux. 

 

“Sir?”

 

“Come back. Don’t give her a reason to sound the alarm. Who else is in play?”

 

“Ren. And his clique.”

 

“Come to my office first thing tomorrow morning.”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

Hux hung up. Then he composed a series of directives to send from his smartphone. The Tico sisters had disappeared. They had to be located, never to be out of sight. Leia Skywalker was on 24/7 watch, they had to know where she was, what she was doing, what she was carrying, who she was talking to. The entirety of Earth Soldiers was moving at once, like a disoriented nest of ants. Connix, Antilles, Milham...he was had received notifications sent by his field agents from all over Colorado. But he knew it was merely a distraction. Skywalker would end up in California sooner or later. It was only a matter of time and patience.

 

His phone vibrated in his hand and he paled at the caller ID. Snoke.

 

The president of the First Order was certainly already aware of the movement of the activist group, he demanded a full debriefing.

 

Hux pursed his lips, placing his hands behind his back. He didn’t quite know what was going on himself, he hadn’t succeeded in figuring out the rebel strategy. But he was confident in his ability to counteract their plans, whatever they were.

 

Nevertheless, he wasn’t sure what to tell Snoke. It would have to be enough to let him know that the situation was being handled. 

 

Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his uniform cuffs with impeccable precision and cleared the surface of his desk.

 

* * *

 

“Stop, Syed,”

 

Ben’s voice was frigid and it made the rocker’s eyes widen. The Kylo and the Knights crew were catching up at a bar in Pinedale, Wyoming. Kylo was there of course, along with the six other musicians.

Their guitarist, who went by Syed Ren, was grinding against Kylo’s shoulder while she traced his neck with a trail of tender kisses—which he had just rejected. 

 

Syed was a woman of intriguing beauty, her flawless bronze complexion glowing softly under the red and blue neon lights. Her curls rose over her temples in a crowning mohawk, revealing her pierced ears and the elegant curve of her neck. 

 

“What?” she demanded. “Are you done sulking? What’s up with you these days?”

 

Ben shrugged, fiddling with his phone. It hadn’t left his side in days, and she had noticed. She took it from his hands. 

 

“You’re glued to this thing twenty four hours a day. Are you expecting a call or what?”

 

His eyes darkened and he held out his hand for Syed to give back the iPhone, but she kept scrolling through the contents while ignoring his glare. 

 

She stopped at a random photo, her gaze turning ice cold. It was the picture of a young woman, definitely taken without her realizing because it was blurry and misaligned. Where had she seen her before? That freckle-faced brunette with the messy topknot and the large knapsack. Her face was oddly familiar. 

 

It slid out of reach as Ben snatched it from her and locked it before slipping it into the pocket of his jeans. 

 

“Don’t ever do that again,” he warned, and she could tell he wasn’t kidding. “Our little cover story shouldn’t make you forget why we’re here. If you can’t manage, I’ll find someone else to get the job done.”

 

“Okay, I get it, my bad,” she grumbled.

 

But she proved incapable of keeping all the venom out of her voice. “But you didn’t mention anything yesterday while you were enjoying yourself in my bed. Or any of the other times, for that matter,” she hissed. 

 

Ben’s gaze hardened. “I thought we agreed that there were no strings attached here. No feelings between us and definitely no jealousy. Instead, I need you to be professional for once. This is the first and last time I’ll tolerate what you just pulled.”

 

“Go fuck yourself, Kylo fucking Ren,” Syed spat, knowing still that the conversation was over. Before he was her lover, he was her boss. And he demanded absolute discretion and loyalty. He wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of her for the smallest mistake. 

 

She raised her bottle to her lips and turned to Saul Ren. But her conversation with the drummer took a rather debauched turn.

 

“If you’re feeling lonely tonight Syed, I’m happy to provide my services,” he offered.

 

“Shut up!”

 

Strangely enough, this cynical exchange greatly de-escalated the situation and Syed remained silent afterwards. She approached the circle of fellow rockstars to find them playing a casual game of pool. The ladies, Kelsi, Shakti, and Tyra, were far ahead of the gents, Skylar and Saul. The score would have been more even if Kylo had decided to play. The man was talented with a cue in his hands. Looking around, Syed noticed that he was far off, leaving the bar with his phone in hand. 

 

Leaning against the wall, he lit a cigarette.

 

Syed was right. He was waiting for a call. 

 

But just what was he hoping would happen? He wasn’t even sure she had found his number where he had stashed it. And even if she had found it, she surely would have thrown it away, cursing the arrogant and meddlesome Ben Solo. And she would be right. He went too far when he called her ex, that Finn guy.

 

Ever since she was at the mercy of the wheels of his car, he had stopped thinking rationally. The minute he had looked at her, something had collapsed. 

 

Destabilized by her red-rimmed golden eyes (had she been crying too often?) and by her English accent which had taken him by surprise, he had lost his faculties and purposely scared her off. That would put some safe distance between them. But what was he safe from? Her smile? Her tears?

 

When their eyes had met from across the room at Howl at the Moon, his heart had skipped a beat. He’d tried to keep a neutral expression, but it had been so obvious that even Syed has belatedly realized that something was up with him. A twitch here, a shaky exhale there—she had felt it and she had instantly hated the intruder who had come between her and Kylo. 

 

Ben had wanted to stay on top of the situation, but he had found himself discarding Syed and walking directly towards Rey in a single motion. It was magnetic. 

 

She was slightly drunk and their conversation was marked by a caustic sort of tension by the time he lost control. She had left and he had chased after her, as though trying to break through the surface of something after being plunged deep inside for so long.  

 

When she knocked herself senseless against that streetlight, all he had to do was drop her off at some motel. Or just call an ambulance and trust the authorities to take care of the rest. But his curiosity had gotten the better of him and the excuse was too good to pass up. So he dialed Jessica from his own contact history and asked his way into Rey’s life. Now he knows who she was and why she was here. 

 

He hailed a cab to the Four Seasons and booked her a room. But a voice inside his head warned him that the situation was getting out of hand.

 

She wasn’t just some well-meaning tourist looking for kicks. She was definitely someone else. She had immediately contacted Rose Tico, someone he had already been following. The next day she had ended up at Leia’s and then she had taken off with BB8 and the Millenium Falcon. 

 

Ben had reported his findings to Snoke, and he knew that Phasma was on the trail. His task was done. But he remained on the look out, ready to strike at the president’s word. 

 

It was all too perfect to be a coincidence. She probably threw herself at his car on purpose. She was a rebel spy for Earth Soldiers and had made the whole “damsel in distress” persona up. And it had worked perfectly—hook, line, and sinker.

 

That was real mistake on his part, a weakness.

 

Rey was a weakness he could no longer permit. She was a trap and he had fallen for her. 

 

His phone rang, snapping him back to reality. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to P. for translating this!  
> Every chapter that drops feels like christmas.  
> Enjoy a little bit of Ben' point of view! He's aligned with TFA and TLJ. Like he wants to be tough but the moment he layed eyes on Rey, it was over. He's screwed.
> 
> And.. meeet SYED REN. She's one of my favorite characters. I love her looks and her loud mouth. She's sexy and deadly. I hope you'll enjoy her!


	9. Chapter 9

Rey woke up cold and aching. It hurt everywhere—her neck, her back, her feet. The back of the car was certainly large enough to sleep in, but it had been an unrestful sleep. Every little thing had made her jump last night. Every headlight that zoomed by was the blonde woman. Every torchlight flitting across the alleys of the campground was looking for her. Every time the dog barked, someone was surely approaching. 

 

She was tired, sore, and already contemplating defeat. She had left London to escape depression. But instead of a sunglasses-and-cocktails vacation, she had found herself in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, 7,500 kilometers away from home. And top it off, she was being chased by a strange woman. Her luck was six feet under and her paranoia through the roof. 

 

She wished that Leia Skywalker (and even Rose to a certain extent) had warned her about what she was getting herself into because she had no clue what to do now. Last night she had seriously imagined leaving the car in a garage somewhere and taking a flight from Jackson Hole to San Francisco.  _Ciao, stalkers and bizarre favors._

 

But what about BB8? Rey had taken responsibility of her. Taking her on a flight would require veterinary clearance, a doggie carrier, and all sorts of other complications that she had neither the energy nor the means for. 

 

Her gut feeling told her that this setup had been deliberate on Leia’s part. With a dog in tow, her safest bet was by driving that car back. Unless she could abandon the dog in the woods somewhere...

 

BB8 chose that exact moment to nuzzle against her, begging for affection. 

 

“You were in the loop about this, weren’t you?” sighed Rey as she scratched the dog between the ears. “You’re the dog equivalent of a honey trap, you conniving little traitor.” 

 

But seriously—it was just a dog, not a KGB spy. She would be fine...

 

Rey got out of the car and stretched. “Come on, let’s go for a walk and then look for some breakfast.”

 

She dug out the box of cookies she bought last night and ate one, occasionally giving bits and pieces to BB8 after making sure they were chocolate-free. She let BB roam free this time, sensing that she wouldn’t try to escape from now on. 

 

Tent folded and loaded into the car, Rey packed the rest of her things. BB8 chased an errant squirrel, helped herself to some treats, and took care of business. Rey watched the dog play in the tall grass as she continued checking her phone for messages. A while ago she had even left a voice message to Ben. 

 

> _Rey here, British and susceptible. Sorry for my reaction the other day, my life is complicated. I saw your band was passing through Jackson Hole on the 5th of July. I’m in the neighborhood, I might come around. Bye._  

 

That message would likely cost her dearly. How was she going to justify contacting Ben again after the scene she had caused at the Four Seasons? To be honest with herself, she hadn’t seen an alternative last night, sitting there on the cold ground. Her family and friends were thousands of kilometers away. Leia Skywalker had disappeared on her. 

 

Whether she liked it or not, Ben Solo was the only person she had maintained contact with since landing, and the only person who had really done her any good without expecting anything in return. She hoped she wasn’t bothering him. 

 

To be fair he had also called her ex and meddled in her personal life when he barely knew her, but due to the circumstances she tried her best to forgive him for that. She had wanted to turn the page on that particular incident and banish Ben Solo from her thoughts forever—before that mysterious blonde woman showed up. 

 

Since then Rey had fretted about traveling alone, with no one to turn to in times of trouble. It’s not like she needed a protector. She just needed a friend, if only for the comfort of knowing that she wasn’t alone. That several hundred kilometers down the road, there would be someone on the other end of the line if she ran into a problem. But it was 7 AM and he hadn’t answered.

 

In his defense, Rey had texted him around midnight. Maybe he just hadn’t seen it yet.

 

“All aboard, BB8!”

 

The dog jumped into the back seat and started chewing methodically on her rubber duckie. The resulting (absurdly loud) squeaking noises made Rey smile. 

 

Hitting the road again, Rey regretted not taking a bathroom break or a shower, or using the washing machines available at the entrance of the campsite. She reeked of dog, sweat, and old car. Strangely enough, it made her laugh. The woman Finn had known had always been a belle, sporting manicured nails and designer perfume. If only he could see her now—he would hardly recognize her.

 

Come to think of it, thinking about Finn no longer made her balk. Was she simply too tried to be angry? She was just starting down a particularly sharp turn when her phone vibrated. It took every ounce of her willpower not to stop in the middle of the highway to read that text. The Millenium Falcon reached Jackson Hole a few minutes later, and she parked in central town before scrambling for her phone. 

 

> _Hello, Brit. I see you’ve found my number, Rey. I’m settling in at Jackson H this morning. I’m staying at the Lodge, 80 Scott Lane. I’m free should you want to get coffee sometime—let me know._

 

It was barely a kilometer away, she could practically walk there. But once again she thought about the blonde trying to break into her car. She would feel much safer parking in the security of a private hotel garage. It only took a few minutes to find the place, a magnificent Swiss chalet complete with exposed beams and stonework. She spotted the infamous black pickup in the parking area and stationed the Millennium Falcon right next to it. 

 

> _Hello Ben, I found the Lodge. Still up for coffee?_

 

His response was immediate:

> _You’ll find me in the lobby._

 

* * *

 

Leia rolled her eyes when another TSA agent approached her as she waited near the baggage claim at Sacramento International Airport. She had been expecting it, but the sheer number of public servants under the First Order’s thumb still managed to surprised her. From the minute she had left the house she had been  _coincidentally_  stopped at every traffic checkpoint possible. It was chilling to realize that this sprawling private organization was in some ways above the law. 

 

She had thought about giving up more than once. 

 

What could she do at this age, with only her brother and a handful of rebels behind her? They were up against a massive corporate empire that had the feds in their pocket. But Leia Skywalker had fought her entire life. For the military, for her honor, for the love of her husband, for her son’s education, for minorities’ rights, and for the weary and downtrodden underdogs. Therein lied her definition of the brave: those who defended the defenseless. She could never stop doing that. Leia knew that nothing short of her death would result in her silence.

 

Leia let the man search her without protest—like every other officer before him. She was wearing a long charcoal dress and heavy ornate bangles of both wrists. Her hair was pinned up in an elaborate braided chignon that added to her height. In her left hand, she carried a cane. It was less for walking and more for leaning on after spending long hours on her feet. 

 

Like every other time, they let her go. He gave her suitcase back after failing to find anything suspicious—the lining was starting to wear. The object they were so eagerly looking for was no longer  in her possession. She smiled knowingly. Knowing that thousands of miles away, an English tourist was on her way. 

 

Leia was greeted by a friendly face as she crossed the line into Arrivals. Her lawyer, Amilyn Holdo. Amilyn was a sixty-something daredevil, her greying hair dyed a striking violet. She was wearing a knee-length taupe skirt suit and violet pumps. Her smile was all dimples. She greeted Leai warmly and grabbed her suitcase.

 

“How are you, Leia? It sure took you a while—did they hold you up?”

 

“Like always, Amilyn. My health isn’t what it used to be and they wouldn’t let me go through the baggage claim. Every damn time. I’m forced to just ignore it these days. How’s the mission going?”

 

“We’ll discuss it in my office, you never know who’s listening. The meeting with Governor Valorum’s staff is in three hours, that gives us some time to plan.” Guiding Leia by the hand, she made her way to the taxi pickup zone. 

 

The law offices of Amilyn Holdo were rather modest. Far from the ornate, high-vaulted, glass and steel monoliths that symbolized the American legal system in popular imagination. A room with a single window and wall to wall bookshelves laden with books and dossiers. Box after box of case files on every available surface, overflowing with papers, binders, envelopes, and notebooks with handwritten memos scrawled on every last page. 

 

Amilyn moved a box stacked on a chair to make space for Leia to sit down. She poured a glass of water for her guest, and rummaged through a small cabinet. She handed Leia a hefty violet dossier held closed by a single strap. “FORCE America: First Order Resource and Capital Extraction”. 

 

All traces of humor gone, the lawyer leaned forward and folded her fingers below her chin. “Tell me everything. Last I heard, you had found someone new?”

 

“Yes. Rose discovered the perfect candidate. It’s not like we could do it ourselves. We couldn’t use email or the postal service. And we would be spotted from a mile away if we did it in-person. I had to delegate.”

 

“But who is this girl? How do you know she’s not some FORCE spy?”

 

“Rose and Paige did a background check, it only took a few hours to clear her. We’re quite certain she’s just a broke tourist. It’s perfect really, FORCE was expecting an activist type, and there’s no way they can stop every single tourist from Colorado to California.”

 

Amilyn pursed her lips, visibly still unconvinced. “But you gave her the Falcon. Surely it will attract unwanted attention?” 

 

Leia smiled. “They can take the Falcon apart piece by piece is they want, they won’t find a thing.”

 

“I wish I was confident about this,” she sighed. “This whole operation hinges on the element of surprise. If FORCE finds those documents before the public, we’re back to square one. And this time we won’t get a head start.”

 

She was interrupted when Leia placed a hand on hers, a comforting gesture. “Hope is like the sun, if you only believe in it when you see it, you’ll never make it through the night. Amilyn, this is the culmination of years of hard work. Have a little faith, they won’t win this time.”

 

“I hope you’re right, if we fail we won’t be able to recover and—“

 

“Trust me, Amilyn. This girl is very capable.”

 

The lawyer smiled begrudgingly, not quite uplifted by her client’s optimism. She chewed on the inside of her cheek in silence, avoiding Leia’s eyes. 

 

“What’s eating you, Amy?”

 

“It’s—Kylo Ren.” 

 

Leia’s smile faltered. Her face fell as she took a sip of water. “What about him?”

 

“You know he’s been tracking the Tico sisters. Ironically, that means they can keep tabs on him too...but it seems he left town a few days ago. Almost exactly the same time as the girls, Connix, Milham and the others.”

 

“FORCE already knew we were on the move. We planned for that. The more we scatter our agents, the more resources they spend chasing diversions instead of cracking our strategy,” Leia responded, trying to keep her voice neutral. 

 

“Yes, I know. But Kylo has Snoke’s ear, and Hux’s attention. He knows the inner workings of our organization, he knows you and your brother. And he’s deeply involved with the Order. Are you sure he won’t see this coming?”

 

Leia’s shoulders sagged, as if burdened by the weight of her grief. She took a deep breath, pausing to find the right words. “Kylo is a brilliant boy. He was swayed by material wealth and prestige. He’ll understand one day. I don’t think he would dare to come after me himself.”

 

“And you?” Amilyn asked, “If we win, they’ll lose everything. Are you willing to put your own son in prison?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I'll never say enough, THANK YOU TO P. FOR TRANSLATING THIS!  
> She's makeing me a great honor, and gigantic favor, and it's an amazing sensatin to read my own words, in another language.
> 
> Rey is going to meet with Ben again in a few minutes. What are your expectations for this?  
> Also what do you think Leia is up to?
> 
> Share your thoughts!


	10. Chapter 10

Rey swept a lock of hair behind her ear as she shouldered her bag and put a leash on BB8. The place was cozy, with rustic wood paneling and classic leather futons. She recognized a few members of The Knights as she entered the lobby. The drummer, the backup singer, and the towering, black-clad silhouette of Ben himself. He had his back turned to her, his shoulders even broader than she last remembered. 

 

_“Looking for someone?”_

 

Rey jumped, turning around.  _Mohawk girl_ —the one who had been all over Ben at the concert last time—stood frowning before her. It felt like the room temperature had plummeted, and Rey tried her best to recover her sangfroid. 

 

“Hello, I’m Rey. You’re the guitarist aren’t you? I really liked your concert in Denver that night...Ben said I should come by.” 

 

“What do you want with Kylo?”

 

Rey noted that her companion was sticking to their stage names and she decided to do the same.

 

“I don’t mean any harm, he did me a favor a while ago and I want to thank him, that’s all,” she tried to remain casual.

 

“I’ll pass it on. Anything else?” 

 

Okay...she hadn’t realized he had a security team. And she was done with being manhandled and manipulated. For two whole weeks she had been treated like some half-witted puppet on a string. She stood a little taller in her heels.

 

“Yes, actually. I’ve got a date with Kylo, and since you seem to be his secretary, we’ll have two coffees, thanks,” she replied tartly. 

 

Without waiting for a response, she left mohawk lady and walked towards Ben at a steady pace. Noticing her approach, the girl talking to Ben signaled for him to turn around.  

 

Rey smiled nervously. Were they going to come to blows again? For a fraction of a second she imagined his unforgiving glare, the same one he had when he ran into her in the street. A look that had frightened her, actually. 

 

But he turned on his heels and smiled.

 

Was that a smile? The corner of his mouth curved into something wicked, a smirk somewhere between satisfaction and victory. 

 

Rey barely had time to open her mouth before BB8 started growling and twisting at the end of her leash. She looked at the dog in surprise, BB had always been so well behaved! Now the dog crouched defensively on her front paws, bearing her teeth and snarling menacingly. 

 

Ben too, was no longer smiling. His eyes were locked on the dog and his expression was equally defiant and bitter. 

 

Shocked, Rey pulled on BB8’s leash to regain her attention and reprimanded her through gritted teeth, “BB8! Stop it!  _What’s gotten into you?_  You should be ashamed of yourself!”

 

But the dog kept growling, back arched. She barked aggressively when Ben tried to move. Rey grabbed her by the collar as she addressed him with an apologetic smile. “Pardon me,” she said, rolling her eyes slightly in embarrassment, “I’ll go put her in the car so she can calm down.”

 

Again, she didn’t wait for a response as she made a beeline for the sliding doors of the entrance, holding BB8 firmly by the collar.

 

She made it to the parking in record time, brusquely putting the dog in the backseat. BB yelped, casing her anger to evaporate. She turned to the canine and scratched her gently. “Well, BB? What was that all about? You can’t just harass people like that. Stay here—the window is slightly open and your water bowl is right there. You need to relax,” she took a good look around before whispering, “but if that blonde woman returns, don’t hold back, alright?” She petted her a little more before closing the door firmly. Just as she finished locking the car, Ben appeared before her, as tall as ever. 

 

“Is that your car?”

 

Rey chewed her lip, suddenly hyper-conscious of the embarrassingly sorry state of such a hunk of junk. 

 

“Yes. Well, not really. It’s on loan to me for the duration of the road trip.” 

 

“And this antediluvian thing still works?”

 

“For now, yeah. We’ll see how long it’ll last on the road,” she replied. 

 

She didn’t know what else to say. Ben shifted, looking past her into the car. He stepped back swiftly as BB8 appeared at the window, barking with rage. Rey grimaced apologetically. 

 

“Evidently, BB8 doesn’t like you very much. Sorry, it’s the first time I’ve seen her react like this. She’s usually really adorable,” Rey admitted.

 

“I don’t think I like her very much either.” Ben retorted, and Rey couldn’t tell whether that was a jab or just plain cynicism on his part. “Is she your dog?” 

 

“Yes. Well, not really. She’s on loan to me for the duration of the road trip. Didn’t we have this conversation already?”

 

“Do you want a coffee?”

 

Rey’s face lit up. Her kingdom for a coffee!   She turned around and made the "I’m watching you" gesture to BB8 before walking towards the hotel. 

 

“I think a coffee would do me some good, yeah.” She said as she turned to Ben.

 

“Wouldn’t you like to take a shower first?”

 

She stopped in her tracks.  _Is that how he wanted to play it?_  Lifting her eyes to his, she held his gaze. His eyes widened, the corners of his mouth curving slightly. Oh, he was going to pay for that. She was going to take him up on it. Her hands fisted at her hips. 

 

“Actually, I would, thanks. And are there any washing machines available at the hotel? I’d like to do a load of laundry as well,” she replied matter-of-factly.

 

“I..think so.”

 

 “Perfect,” she said, holding out her hand to him. He looked at it in confusion. 

 

“I need your room key,” she clarified, “So that I can take a shower. That’s what you meant, right?” 

 

Ben chewed on his lip, fumbling in his pockets. After a moment of hesitation, he handed her a mag-stripe card. They made it back to the lobby area when Rey decided to continue pushing her luck. She turned to Ben with an angelic smile. “Which room again?” she asked loudly. 

 

“Er...212,” he responded, sensing that the situation was getting out of hand. 

 

“Thanks,  _for everything._ ” she grinned, not waiting for a response as she headed to the elevators. She flashed what’s-her-name a saccharine artificial smile on her way out (Rey didn’t know her name but she knew her type). To her satisfaction, the poor girl was absolutely tongue-tied. 

 

When the elevator doors closed, Syed exploded. She turned to Ben, seething with rage. “ _Who was that bitch?_ ”

 

Ben looked down on her with disdain. At full height, he was a good head or so taller than her. “Your new mission,” he articulated, his expression stony. “She’ll be under surveillance from now on and it goes without saying that she’ll be under your protection. If anything happens to her I’m holding you personally responsible.”

 

“Are you kidding me? That’s out of the question,” Syed tried, but her voice had lost some of its confidence.

 

“I’m absolutely serious,” Ben continued, ignoring her protest, “And practice discretion. You’ve done enough to make her notice you, it’s time you worked to make her forget you. Make sure she doesn’t suspect anything.” 

 

Syed’s steady stream of insults continued all the way to the elevator. Ben sighed wistfully as the doors closed once again. He needed to put an end to this problem; hell hath no fury like Syed. He shouldn’t have slept with her. It was fun while it lasted but he hadn’t anticipated the complications. Their physical relationship had put an end to the strict professional hierarchy that had existed until then. Now Syed was freewheeling. He would have to keep an eye on her. 

 

Arriving in front of his room, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t have the key—Rey had run off with it. He supposed he could knock, or text her. But then what? Be alone with a hotel room with her? When she was about to get out of the shower, no less? He imagined her then, wrapped in a hotel towel, her hair in damp waves. It troubled him so.  The last time they were alone together in a hotel room, nothing had gone to plan. He had left the room furious and drenched in coffee.

 

But that night...he closed his eyes, leaning against the wall. That night at the Four Seasons, Rey had been drunk and disoriented from the trauma. She had gotten into his arms and he had carried her to the room. And she had been so light, so fragile. And even when he set her down on the bed, she was held onto his neck. Ben bit his lip at the thought. 

 

He had wanted to gently let go of her, but she hugged him tighter, blindly seeking his mouth. " _Finn, please_." She uttered the name over and over, speaking in half-coherent phrases of love, regret, and sadness. 

 

It took every once of Ben’s inner strength and patience to not respond in kind. Not to return her touches, to break the kiss. To leave her lying on the bed, alone. But he had kept the feeling of her breath on his skin, shuddering at the near-painful tension. 

 

When his legs gave out, present-day Ben sank to the ground, his elbows resting on his knees. He leaned his head back and contemplated the ornate ceiling. He turned at the sound of a throat clearing. It was Rey. She was standing there in the empty corridor. It was hard to tell which of them was more surprised to find the other in this particular location. 

 

“What are you doing here?” she was the first to break the silence. 

 

“I could ask you the same,” Ben replied, “Weren’t you supposed to take a shower inside?” 

 

Rey’s lips twisted into a flustered pout. “It’s just—I mean we barely know each other. I couldn’t bring myself to go into your room, with your stuff everywhere and... _undress_  in your bathroom, and I didn’t bring a change of clothes...”

 

“I see.”

 

She leaned against the wall and slid down next to him. “Here,” she said, handing him the mag-stripe card again, “I won’t be needing this.”

 

“Thank you,” he said, sliding it into his pocket. 

 

“So, what now? Do you still want to order us some coffee?” 

 

Ben’s eyes widened at the thought. “Right here, in the middle of the hallway?” 

 

“And why not? We can’t use your room—that would be too intimate—and the lobby is out of question—your guard dog looks ready to bite me, and mine is more than willing to bite you. Can’t we just stay here in neutral territory and order room service?” 

 

_Lord, where could he start_...Ben wanted to start by scoffing at both instances of the term  _guard dog_ , followed by addressing her exact perceptions of  _intimacy_...except he was able to convey exactly none of that through the lump in his throat. His body temperature spiked; Rey tended to have that effect on him. She left him speechless, breathless, and mildly confused. It was intoxicating, really. Her mere presence was a unique form of intoxication. 

 

And so, room service found them in the hallway, sitting in the exact same positions. They were handed a cardboard tray, with two large disposable cups of coffee. Rey took the liberty of ordering foam and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of hers. She moaned in appreciation on the very first sip.

 

Still scalding, the coffee was a magic, revitalizing potion to Rey. Her mind and body were once again restored thanks to that sweet magic ambrosia. She took her bag in hand again, ready for unfinished business. 

 

She turned to Ben, “I still want to get ahold of that washing machine though, the shower can wait but the laundry can’t. Want to come with me?” 

 

Ben’s muscles rippled as his got to his feet. “A rendez-vous in the laundry room with you? How could I possibly refuse?”

 

He didn’t say much as they made their way to the laundry room on the other side of the building. They took the stairs in order to completely avoid the lobby. Rey was surprisingly quiet as well, as though she was miles away. Ben guessed she was trying to find the right words. Maybe she would finally broach the subject of her sudden willingness to see him again?

 

Once her clothes were stuffed into the washing machine, she selected the “15-min express” cycle and paid the five dollar fee. After finishing and disposing of the last of her coffee, she turned to him again. This time he could tell that she was ready to talk. She raised her gold-flecked eyes to his. “Ben, there’s actually a reason I sent you that text the other night,” she began.

 

“You mean, other than the fact that you couldn’t resist seeing me again?” He grinned. 

 

“Ben—I’m not kidding.” 

 

_Me neither, he thought wistfully._

 

 “Someone tried to steal my car the other day and now I’m not sure I want to travel alone.” She finally admitted.

 

Ben froze. Should he play the fool here? It seemed Phasma had made a rookie mistake,  _typical_. Now it was up to Ben to keep Rey calm. He had to figure out the extent of her relationship with those rebels. 

 

“Okay...were you assaulted, what happened?” 

 

“No, nothing like that, just taken by surprise. And scared. She looked like she was trying to force the door open, and I’m sure she was following me, ever since Denver. And so I was wondering if—“

 

“Do you want to submit a complaint to the authorities? I’ll come with you,” he offered. 

 

“No, no it’s not that bad,” Rey bristled, “I was hoping I could follow you on your tour across the States. I don’t feel like travelling alone and my only constraint is that I have to be in San Francisco by the 15th of July.” She shrugged, fidgeting a little. 

 

“Well? Is that a yes or a no? I mean, either way I have to take this dog to a complete stranger with a garbage phone number,” she added, “so you know my life is going great, absolutely peachy, right now and I just—“ 

 

Ben looked down at her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked really fragile. Still, he touched her tentatively, ready to retract his hand if she rejected it. But she didn’t. 

 

“Alright, I get it,” he seemingly conceded her point, “you can follow us on tour.” 

 

_It was perfect. She was suddenly under his protection. And of her own volition._

 

Everything was going to be great from now on. Well—everything except for one.

 

_Syed is going to kill me._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG Syed is SO GOING TO KILL HIM. XD


	11. Chapter 11

Leia swallowed. For a moment, Amilyn Holdo wondered if she would cry, but that would be underestimating the veteran. She had fought bigger battles.  

 

“Amilyn,” Leia began, “Ben has made a series of bad decisions, no doubt under the influence of none other than Armitage Hux. They were partners in crime during their devil-may-care college years. He became arrogant and self-centered, thinking himself untouchable under Snoke’s protection. Snoke was the ever-powerful presence that gave him everything he desired, while filling his head with the unthinkable. It’s been a long time since I’ve lost all influence over him. And if a brief stint in prison is what finally wakes him up, so be it.” She sighed, “Look, he’s still my son and I love him more than anything, but I think this might be the beating that finally makes him get his act together.”

 

Amilyn smiled at the mental image of Leia’s small frame spanking the imposing Ben Solo—or rather, his troublemaker rockstar alter ego, Kylo Ren. A helluva spanking, for sure. 

 

“Good. Well, if you’re ready now we have a meeting with the Governor in five,” Amilyn offered. 

 

The tip of Leia’s cane slipped on one of the many papers littering the floor as she tried to get up. She had been using it to support most of her weight, but luckily she was able to catch herself, bracing her body against the desk.

 

Amilyn rushed to her side, noticing a slight tremor in her hands and infinite sadness in her eyes. She was strong, but her heart had been broken. 

 

“Are you alright? Amilyn asked, “Should I postpone the meeting?”

 

“No, I’m fine, let’s go,” Leia sighed as she got to her feet again. She turned to Amilyn with tired eyes. “You know, the contents of this dossier have ruined three generations of my family,” she said gravely. 

 

“I know. And I admire you for bearing this burden alone, despite everything, for all these years.”

 

“We’re so close. This is our last move—it’s us or them. If we fail, there won’t be a second chance. It’s time to finish this.”

 

She closed her eyes as the car made its across Sacramento to the state capitol building. She had spoken about her son with a detached tone, if only to hide her chagrin. She wasn’t kidding when she said that the contents of that dossier would destroy her family. It was the stuff of novels— _The Grandeur and Decadence of the Skywalker Dynasty_. The tale of how her parents Anakin and Padme Skywalker, fresh out of Harvard, had started the eco-conscious mining and water treatment company Resistance & Advancement Co. A new hope for the planet that would provide “ _a better future for all_ ”. How Anakin had foreseen a massive profit margin, had signed contracts with suspicious clients against his wife’s advice. 

 

How their son Luke, their Harvard legacy, had found his way to the top of the R&A administration in order to clean house. He wanted to cut ties with shady business partners and see his mother’s vision through. Leia, however, was always more behind the scenes, though guided by the same ideals of peace and justice that seemed impossible today. 

 

And then there was Snoke, the Chief Financial Officer who had come to power under corrupt circumstances. He had plotted to take command of the Board of Directors and IPO the company by putting his cronies in power at R&A.

 

Leia had imagined that her son would side with her, to restore the family enterprise to its former glory. Never in a thousand years did she think that Ben would turn on her. He fell right into Snoke’s outstretched hands—worse—he declared that the new agenda was Anakin Skywalker’s legacy, his ancestor’s lasting vision for R&A. Snoke and Hux had brainwashed him.

 

She was jolted from her thoughts as the car abruptly stopped in front of the capitol building. Going around the mob of tourists partaking in guided tours, they made their way to the administrative entrance, where they were greeted by a debonair hostess in a black suit. After double-checking their IDs, she pointed out the corridor that led to the parliamentary wing. They found themselves in a waiting room where they helped themselves to two scalding cups of flavorless coffee.

 

Amilyn didn’t even need to check her watch. “We’re going to get stood up,” she declared. “That’s their strategy, tie us up in red tape, waste all our time in this massive waiting room and never get to the bottom of that dossier.”

 

Leia placed a reassuring hand on her friend’s forearm in response. She had regained her peace of mind, her eyes no longer filled with sadness or uncertainty. Instead they were brimming with a scathing sort of determination. Here, in the heart of the Californian capital, she was in the eye of the storm. And she was ready to confront it. 

 

He came through the waiting room door right then—a fifty-something man with a craggy face and salt-and-pepper hair. He was sharply dressed in all white and he wore a suit jacket draped over his shoulders like a cape. 

 

“Representative Krennic,” he introduced himself, “Yours truly on behalf of Governor Valorum. This way to my office,”

 

“We have a meeting with the governor himself, Mr. Krennic,” Amilyn objected. 

 

“The governor sends his apologies, he was summoned regarding a rather urgent matter, but don’t you worry—I know the dossier quite well.” 

 

“I see,” Amilyn managed behind the tightly gritted teeth of her fake smile, “Very well, then. We should set up another meeting right away.” She said as they followed him.

 

Representative Krennic pursed his lips in what could only be called a paltry, hypocritical attempt at an expression of sympathy. He took his place behind his desk and invited them to sit down.  Suddenly his eyes were hard and cold. He folded his hands together on the tabletop.

 

“The governor had a very time-sensitive errand to run. I assure you I’m entirely capable of representing him today. So let’s cut to the chase: the enterprise charter brought forth by FORCE which you object to so vehemently, is perfectly legally authorized. I have here the results of some studies done by the Environmental Protection Agency that contradict your claim.” He flicked through the dossier nonchalantly. Leia was about to make an impolite gesture but Amilyn stopped her. 

 

“The state of California,” he continued, “represented by Governor Valorum—and I, in equal measure—has expressed consent to both FORCE and their CEO Mr. Snoke regarding the mining of the Humboldt sector. I should also add,” he continued with a cruel smile, “that on behalf of the thousands of workers that we collectively employ, that FORCE and the state of California are considering to jointly sue you for obstruction of public progress,  defamation, and violation of workers’ and unions’ rights,” he grinned wickedly, “and, if I recall correctly, we might even be able to sue for terror-adjacent activities. Any questions?”

 

* * *

 

Armitage Hux turned on the flat screen television embedded into his office wall. The highlight of the evening broadcast on ABC7News was the very public debacle in Sacramento. 

 

Leia Skywalker, unmistakable in her long grey wrap dress, was crossing the street to get to her car. She was so small that Amilyn Holdo appeared tall beside her. A group of activists clad in Earth Soldiers t-shirts was waiting for them. Many of them were carrying signs with protest slogans including  _No to the Hoopa Valley mine!_ ,  _Say No to Poison_ ,  _FORCE must PAY_ , and  _Valorum is Complicit_. 

 

Among them Hux recognized Rose Tico, who was holding a megaphone and addressing the journalists who had scurried to the scene directly. The fire in her voice was palpable, to the point where he thought she would nearly be out of breath. 

 

“We have just heard that the EPA approved the construction of a new mine in North Hoopa Valley! This is absolutely unacceptable, and we stand against it! All evidence points to Governor Valorum being a puppet of FORCE, which has funded his re-election campaign to a great extent! This man has been corrupted and he’s trying to—“ Hux slammed the mute button just as his phone began to vibrate. He raised it to his ear, annoyed.

 

“Hux.” 

 

“Sir, I’ve lost track of the Tico sisters, they flew to California via Reno, and I lost them right as the approached Tahoe.” 

 

“Don’t you worry, I know exactly where they are,” he said, managing to keep most of the rage out of his voice. Phasma on the other hand, had the gall to sound relieved. 

 

“Really? What is their location?”

 

“In the Capitol, you idiot, on national goddamn television! The Ticos, Antilles, Connix—the whole damn lot of them!”

 

Now she began to hesitate.

 

“Sir, I.. I’ll get there right away I’m—“

 

“Useless, you’re absolutely pathetic.”

 

No sooner had he hung up that he noticed a second incoming call. Snoke.

 

Hux took a deep breath as he smoothed his hair. Once he left his office, he navigated a dark corridor and knocked on an unmarked door that opened by silently receding into the wall. The inside of the room was similarly dark, with black lacquer floors and crimson drapery. Snoke was known to suffer from violent migraines and thus he detested the light. 

 

“You may approach, Hux,” he declared, his voice audibly tired. “I heard that our friends put on quite a protest for the television?”

 

“Indeed. They’re reacting to the EPA’s decision making, and it’s trending on social platforms. They simultaneously hit YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. The story has been shared millions of times, they’re viral.”

 

“And above all, they are organized. The scene they caused today was painstakingly staged. They knew what the results of the vote would be beforehand.” 

 

“It doesn’t really matter though,” Hux scoffed with a disdainful wave of his hand, “that they’re internet famous and amassing thumb-ups on YouTube. It’s a blip in the grand scheme of things, the mine is fully approved and ready for operation. We’ve won.”

 

“Don’t be so sure of yourself, Armitage. The hearing is in two weeks, and Valorum has plummeted in popularity.”

 

Hux scoffed indignantly yet again.

 

“We have Valorum eating out of our very hands. We make up no less than 20 percent of his campaign financing—he got re-elected because of our means. We employ, directly or indirectly, thousands within his administration.”

 

“And the judge, Mitaka?”

 

“His daughter was delighted that we bought her way into Yale, not to mention that we’re so generously funding his partner’s chemotherapy...with absolute discretion, of course. It’s all being handled through NGO charities. We’re talking millions of dollars here, but I’ve been assured that the books are bulletproof.” 

 

Snoke said nothing for a moment. His skin was jaundiced like most heavy smokers, and his shoulders were permanently slumped. He chewed on his thumbnail, a nervous tick when he was deep in thought. 

 

“No, this won’t do,” he said finally. “The Skywalkers are persistent, they fight unto the death for what they consider a family legacy, the very dignity of a name. This time it’s personal, they have nothing left to lose. And those who have nothing left to lose are particularly dangerous.”

 

Hux acquiesced in silence as Snoke’s gaze settled on him. The whites of his eyes were also tinged with jaundice, and his pupils appeared glazed over. 

 

“This whole ordeal with these hippies in overalls feels like a ruse to me,” he began, ”there has to be something else at play. They knew we were going to buy out the EPA’s vote...and therein lies the key. Perhaps we have a spy in our midst. Find it, and neutralize it.”

 

“Understood.” Hux responded with aplomb. Then he added in a more hesitant voice, “And Ren? Where is he?”  

 

“Kylo Ren is exactly where I need him to be, carrying our orders on the field. Surely you don’t find that you miss him, do you?”

 

“No, of course not.” Hux chuckled lightly, “Evidently he’s very busy on the field.”

 

The madman had managed to go on tour with his crew of rabid rockers while persuading leadership that it would be an economically beneficial disguise. Meanwhile Hux had to pilot the ship from his desk and face Snoke’s wrath in person. It was typical Kylo. Even at Harvard he managed to garner the adoration of the faculty without lifting a finger. 

 

One day he would have to explain how he was always seemingly in the right place at the right time. 

 

Leaving Snoke’s office for his own at a brisk pace, he found the re-emerging  sunlight pleasant. There was something suffocating about the darkness that the president kept himself in all day. Hux was certainly not claustrophobic but he was glad to see the light of day again. He dialed a number on his phone and she responded immediately:

 

“Phasma.”

 

“Come to my office at once, I have a new case for you. We think there’s been an inside job. You need to get on this immediately.”

 

“I’m coming.”

 

“I’ll be waiting.” 

 

He hung up. 

 

It still gnawed at him. Where was Kylo? What possible mission could he be attending while the entirety of Earth Soldiers, including his own mother, were in Sacramento?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to all of you who are reading and commenting. It's a pleasure and a delight to follow the English-speaker audience as they discover this story! ^__^ It's still a niche, though, it's very discrete and quiet. But I love you all for being here. Cheers!


	12. Chapter 12

 “If you’re going to follow us on tour I’m going to have to introduce you to the others,” Ben told her.  

Rey chewed on her lip nervously and he practically read her mind.  

“Don’t worry about Syed. She can be a jerk sometimes but she’ll come around. She won’t cause you any trouble.” 

He was heading to the door when her hand on his forearm stopped him in his tracks. Her palm burned on contact.  

He turned around, feigning disinterest. But he had lost the ability to speak for a second. _What was he, fifteen again?_  

Rey’s hazel eyes locked with his own. She had freckles on her cheeks and nose and she looked unwittingly adorable, even in shock. 

“Ben, is this Syed girl actually your  _girlfriend_?” Her eyes widened, ”She always keeps track of who you take out or share your room keys with, doesn’t she?” 

Ben turned to her, towering over her with his massive frame. One of his arms rested casually on the wall behind her. Rey didn’t move. She could feel his breath, his sharp cologne, and she could see the outline of his muscles through his t-shirt. She blushed visibly, looking down.  

Ben didn’t miss her reaction. “What? You’re jealous too?” He smirked.  

He was expecting it. Rey blinked. She inhaled him, and for a fleeting moment a memory replayed itself, surging back from the depths of her subconscious. She suddenly remembered the feeling of kissing him—prying his lips open and seeking out his tongue as she breathed against his mouth.  

But she didn’t remember how it had happened. Had it been in a dream? Was Ben worming his way into her erotic fantasies? 

Ben was well aware that she was eyeing his lips, though she probably didn’t realize it herself. His heart beat faster and he swore that his pants felt tighter. He concentrated on making the tension in his gut disappear.  

“Don’t you worry, we’re not together. But let’s just say we have history,” he replied.  

It was a euphemism at best, but Rey didn’t want to find out. She nodded. “I...I should start the dryer,” she said lamely.  

The moment had clearly passed. Ben chewed half-heartedly on his lower lip. He’d wavered. He should have kissed her. He needed the taste of her lips the way a parched man needed an oasis. Had he missed the perfect occasion?  

Rey ducked out of the corner she had backed into, bending over in front of the washing machine in order to transfer her clothes to the dryer. Her phone bulged awkwardly  out of her front pocket, so she paced it on the machine next to her for the time being.  

He responded in kind by letting his arm drop in a futile gesture. “Okay. If you still want to shower, I think there are stalls by the pool. I can give you access. Looks like you have a good forty five minutes courtesy of the dryer.” 

She avoided his eyes but managed to nod. “Yeah, sounds good, let’s go,” she murmured as she got up. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben observed that she had left her phone behind on one of the washers. Taking special care not to touch the screen with his fingers, he slipped it into his pocket as Rey exited the room. Now he would know if she was truly an Earth Soldiers operative.  

He guided her to the pool area which he unlocked with his room keycard. It was an indoor heated pool, and she would find showers in the locker room. He turned to leave.  

“I’ll be in the lobby,” he clarified, “Rendezvous downstairs?”  

Rey thanked him and beelined to the changing rooms. He made sure to distance himself before taking a sharp left into a corridor. It was there that he pulled out his spoils from the laundry room. 

It was some kind of Android. 

He could just barely make out her fingerprints on the illuminated lock screen. But would he get the password pattern right without activating the autolock? He examined the traces carefully. It looked like an “E” on first sight.  

Failed attempt.  

Then he tried an “F”, an “F” for Finn.  

_Bingo_  

He cracked a disbelieving smile as the lock screen dissipated.  

But he didn’t have much time. What should he look up first? He badly wanted to go through her Facebook, her social network, or her emails maybe...he could find her photos with Finn. What did he look like? He wanted to look upon the face of the man who was inconsiderate enough—or insane enough—to snub a woman who had no equal. 

  _Concentrate Kylo, what are the vitals?_  

_Call history._  

He scrolled through her recent calls and took screenshots on his own phone. Her voicemail was empty.  

Emails: Jessika, Poe, and what appeared to be work memos from her job...in England.  

Then, he opened her photo album. Wyoming landscapes, two selfies—with Phasma in the background —the sheer level of amateur fuckup  there was absolutely incredible at this point. He scrolled a little lower... 

 

Ben chewed on his lip for the hundredth time that day. 

A series of selfies of her and a young black man with a charming smile. He looked sweet and loving, if one were to believe exhibits A through Z of the evidence footage.  

Ben’s mouth suddenly went dry as he scrolled through the pictures of her trying on a wedding dress. A delicate, lacy A-line  gown with a corseted bodice and a short train. Her beauty was breathtaking.  

What struck him most was how _happy_  she was, Ben had never seen her smile like that, with such effortless sincerity. He had finally gotten to know her well enough, after a string of haphazard encounters over the past three days, and now he felt a sudden pang of aching sadness.  

He took some more screenshots with his own device and noted the emails and addresses of Rey’s friends: Jessika Pava, Finn Storm, and Poe Dameron. He also recorded the name and address of her workplace, and listed all of her British connections (most of whom were employed in London). What the hell was she doing Earth Soldiers, then? None of it made sense.  

Either she really had no connection or she was communicating with the activists using another phone. The second option was by far more probable, seeing as she had access to both the Millenium Falcon and BB8.  

In any case, he had to give her phone back. He would rather not risk putting it in the laundry room for fear of having it truly stolen. He walked up to a room service attendant who was making the rounds with a cart. A fifty dollar bill ensured that she would take the phone to the reception desk and claim that she had found it on a dryer in the laundry room. 

Then he headed to the lobby where Syed informed him that Shakti and Skylar were taking a tour of the city while the rest of the band were in their respective rooms. 

_So much for introductions._  

While waiting for Rey to reappear, he sent a summary of his findings as well as some coordinates to Snoke, who would no doubt find suitable people to investigate each and every element he brought up. If they found a link had been established between her and Earth Soldiers, or the Skywalker clan in particular, he would be the first to know. 

 

* * *

Rey emerged from the corridor leading to the lobby in a frenzy. She was wearing clean clothes but her bag was stuffed to the brim with the rest of her unfolded laundry. Ben and Syed rose to their feet simultaneously.  

“I’ve lost my phone!” she exclaimed anxiously, “It’s an absolute catastrophe, I won’t be able to travel alone without a phone—what if I  _drop dead_  in the middle of the desert?!”  

“Are you sure you checked everywhere?” Ben asked, “what if it’s at the bottom of your bag?” he hoped he sounded convincingly worried about the situation. 

“No, I...I emptied all of the contents. And my pockets too. I’m retracing my steps...I went back to the laundry room but it wasn’t there I—“ 

“Try asking the front desk,” Syed suggested, “Someone may have seen it and turned it in.” 

Ben raised an eyebrow, taken aback by this unexpected show of benevolence on Syed’s part. Rey’s face lit up. 

“I didn’t even consider that! Thanks!” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Ben saw Rey run up to the receptionist and exchange a few words before the woman presented her with a phone. She buried her face in her hands, her body visibly sagging with relief against the counter.  

Then he turned to Syed, cocking his head to one side. “What was that? Are you playing good cop now?” 

She gave him a dirty look. “I’m a professional. I know my job, and I deliver. Did you have doubts?” 

“Not for a second,” he responded. He then turned his attention to Rey, who was approaching them triumphantly, smartphone in hand. She gave Syed a brilliant smile.  

“Thank you so much, I was on the verge of a breakdown. And...sorry for the whole coffee thing earlier,” she said, extending a hand towards the other woman. 

“Syed,” she said as she shook it, “No worries. Kylo tells me you’ll be following us on tour?”  

Rey glanced over to Ben, seeking his approval, but his face was impassive.  

“Oh, no, I mean, not the whole tour. Just some dates. To uh, have a few road stops here and there cause the drive is long,” she was babbling at this point, “It’s just that I’m traveling alone and it would be good to have people to meet up with if I’m having an off day—“ Rey paused, clamping her mouth shut before she could add  _or if some random blonde woman decides to follow me and steal my car_. “—Anyway, I don’t want to spend too much time here in Jackson Hole, but I think I’ve decided to attend your concert tomorrow, if you don’t mind?”  

“Not at all, you’re welcome to,” Ben replied, “I can even give you backstage access, but we won’t have too much time to hang out because we need to set things up for the next show.” 

“That won’t be a problem,” Rey smiled, “I’ll take the time to look around a little. Since I landed in Denver I was so busy I never had the chance to really see any of the place. Do you know what I could do around here for fun?” 

Syed was going to throw up. It was hard enough to play nice for long without having to play tour guide too. Fortunately—or unfortunately—Rey only seemed to have eyes for Kylo. Alas, it seemed like Kylo was no better in that regard. If anything, he was worse. It took a painful amount of effort on her part in order to stop the bloody Brit from running for the hills. But she managed to keep her voice somewhat natural: “Well it  _is_  a winter sports lodge, you could always take the chairlift up the mountain and come back down on foot. Or go on a boat ride down Snake River a few miles north of here.”  

“Ah, a hike would be a great idea, but I’m not sure if dogs are allowed on the ch—oh shit, BB8!” She had completely forgotten that BB was still in the parked car, for over an hour now. She shouldered her knapsack, still half-open and overflowing with laundry, and ran towards the exit.  

Syed and Ben remained standing in the lobby, watching her run like the wind. As the automatic doors screeched to a close,  a feeling crept over them, like calm and devastation at once. Like going back home to examine the damage a tornado had done to your home. Everything was suddenly dead silent. Ben felt empty inside again, and he took a deep breath. As though he had stopped breathing in  _her_  presence.  

Syed sighed audibly in exasperation, “Okay, spill it. What the hell’s your problem?” She spat venomously. 

“It’s her.” He responded, his mind a million miles away.  

“ _Trust me_ , I got that part.” She rolled her eyes, “Where did she come from? Why is Snoke interested in her?” 

Ben turned to face her in a slow and deliberate movement. “I’ll explain, but not here. Right now your job is to monitor her every move. The good news is that the dog doesn’t recognize you. Unlike me, who it tried to take a bite out of, stupid mutt.”  

Syed’s eyes widened in amazement. “Her dog really tried to bite you? Are you kidding me?” 

“It belonged to my uncle, Luke Skywalker. But it doesn’t add up: why is some English tourist touring the U.S. in Han Solo’s car, accompanied by Luke’s pet? There are too many coincidences here, I have to figure out her relationship with them.” 

“So you can do what? Punish her with the intensity of your longing looks?”  

Ben blanched. The fact the Rey threw him off his game was one thing, the fact that Syed was picking up on that and threatening to use it against him...that, he would never tolerate.  

“We’ll see about that.” He said through gritted teeth. “Someone has to get her to talk. If I can get her to admit what my mother has been plotting against FORCE, I’ll sound the alarm.” 

“And you think it’ll be some pillow talk confessional? Is that your plan?” 

Syed maintained her sangfroid for the most part, but her voice shook with a certain anger that didn’t escape Ben’s notice...but he certainly approved of the idea of a pillow talk confessional. A flame licked down his spine, obliterating all his worldly pain for a moment. He managed to smile, looking for Rey’s telltale silhouette as he scanned the hotel lobby with his eyes.  

“And why not? The ends justify the means after all...and you’re going to help me.” He slid a hand into his pocket, revealing a packet of cigarettes. “I’m going to take a smoke break. Fetch the others, I’ll take care of Rey for now. We’ll meet up at the Gun Barrel Bar in an hour. I advise you to take this seriously because Snoke certainly is.” He turned to leave.  

Instead of leaving herself, Syed blocked him, placing a hand over the fly of his trousers. He was trying to hide the fact that he was still recovering from the idea of bedding Rey. She gave him a stroke from base to tip, smooth and fatal. Her other hand latched on to his torso, and she brought herself up on her tiptoes to graze her lips against his mouth. “Don’t try to hide the effect she has on you,  _Kylo_ ” she whispered in his ear, “ _I know you by heart._  Don’t try to tell me that this pillow talk scheme is all in the name of Snoke. You’re thinking with your dick here. Don’t screw over the mission you were assigned.  Be careful Kylo—you’re at risk of disobeying the boss man yourself. I hope that fucking her will be worth the pain, because you’re going to lose the mission, and your job.” 

“Fuck you,” Ben hissed, and Syed let him go.  

“Whenever you want, wherever you want, baby. And I’ll be quick about it too.”  

She held up her middle finger as she sauntered in the direction of her room, ostensibly making sure that her point got across. 


	13. Chapter 13

After giving BB8 more to drink in the parking lot, Rey met up with Ben to watch 4th of July fireworks with the band. There would definitely be a show in central town and Rey would rather sit with the party crowd than sip her beer all alone. 

 

She headed towards the ski lifts, very much hoping that they could transport her and BB to the very top of the mountain. 

 

Alas, they had a strict policy against dogs.  She found herself relegated to the valley below. She was wearing her trainers and her backpack, the latter of which contained her hotel purchases: a water, a muffin, a banana, and a packet of beef jerky. 

 

She looked around to make sure the blonde woman was nowhere to be found. Did she stop following or was she just getting better at being discrete? 

 

She scratched BB’s head pensively, even as worry coiled in her stomach. And so she was fretting again—when she could be taking advantage of the day in front of her. After a quick google search, she decided to take a trek in the surrounding area. A walk could really do her some good. 

 

The vast landscape looked nothing like the English countryside. Instead, mountain plants grew underfoot: traup flowers, pines, sage, heather, lichens and thorn bush. The air was buzzing with the sound of insects. Rey unclipped BB’s leash so the dog make her ascent freely. 

 

Suddenly, she felt alone in her chagrin. It would have been nice to share the sights and sounds, the serenity of the moment with someone else. Where was Finn? What was he up to in that instant—after having ruined all her plans? She felt like she had spent an entire lifetime in London. One that blurred into the distance with her departure. She still thought about him every day, but doing so had become far less painful, less consuming. Her memories were instead soft and hazy, like she was looking back at him through a pair of rose-colored glasses. They had separated only two weeks ago and yet she found she did not miss him as much as she thought she would. 

 

She felt utterly liberated, free to make her own choices and follow her own desires. She had been in a relationship for so long that she had forgotten what it felt like not to be beholden to someone else. To make decisions alone and selfishly, without having to compromise for anyone. And sure, having someone in her life had been reassuring—but it had also been stifling. 

 

And besides, he had never really liked hiking, Finn was the kind of man who stayed within city limits. Their time together had consisted of television marathons, sushi takeaway, cinema outings, and concerts. Sometimes Finn would play football with his closest friends, especially Poe. Bloody hell—she should have seen Poe coming!

 

No, it was obvious now that Finn would never truly appreciate the value of a moment of peace and solitude in the mountains. She would rather share this moment with...

Ben.

Wait. That was ridiculous. They had only really known each other for a couple of days. Never mind that she had made a terrible first impression on him, and that was putting it nicely. 

 

Why then did her mind imagine him there, alone at the top of the world with her? He always emanated a sort of melancholy. Why was his gaze so sad? Rey wondered how much of his cocky rockstar was just for show. Was music really his bread and butter? There was no way he could afford to drive a massive pickup like that after only three self-released CDs. So where did the money come from? Where did he—and his knights—really work? 

 

It was useless to occupy her thoughts needlessly; she would have the chance to ask them about it tonight. If she played her cards right and asked discretely, that is. 

 

Sitting on the river bank, she ate her last-minute picnic, turning to throw a few pieces of beef jerky in BB8’s direction. 

 

BB8?

 

Where was that girl?

 

Rey got to her feet and places her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice.

 

“Bee Bee!”

 

Well, this was probably why they had put up that “dogs must remain on leash at all times” sign at the trail entrance. They were probably trying to save the squirrels from puppy wrath. 

 

Chipmunks, whispered the voice in her head. Rey seethed mentally. Now was not the time to squabble over vocabulary!

 

The rustling of leaves a little further up the path got her attention. She recalled that BB8 liked to dig hiding places for her sticks. As Rey approached, a little striped rodent launched belly-down through the forest, zigzagging around rocks and roots as it flew into a thorny bush and found purchase on low hanging branches. BB8, previously disinterested, jumped up to chase the animal with a surprising amount of vigor. Before Rey could grab her, the dog disappeared into the bushes, like a greyhound chasing a lure. 

 

Rey sighed a few choice words. Deciding not to waste time, she shoved the leash into her pocket and went in search of her dog.

 

And that’s how she found herself in a bloody sumac bush that left prickling imprints on her calves that caused agony with every step. The thorn bushes here were just as unforgiving as the ones in

England. 

 

“I swear when I get ahold of that dog again I’m going to have an absolute fit,” she grumbled in between panting breaths. Her legs were on fire but the sound of BB8’s groaning wasn’t far off. She let it guide her toward a pile of withering branches. She found the little dog perched on her hind paws, barking at the trunk of a cedar tree that she had been leaning on.

 

Rey slipped the leash back onto BB’s collar and tugged a little harder than she probably should have. The dog yelped in protest. Feeling guilty, Rey leaned down to pet her. 

 

“C’mon girl, let’s go.”

 

She retraced her steps, finally finding the place where she had stashed her knapsack. A large silhouette appeared to be rifling through her things. It looked rather large, and it turned to grunt at her like a bull. 

 

Rey cried out. There, in the middle of the forest, stood a decent-sized bear. It was currently in the process of emptying out her bag, having eaten half of the banana and chewed up the muffin wrapper to sugary bits.

 

BB8 rose up and growled, baring her teeth. “Gently, steady now...” Rey whispered, backing away slowly. 

 

She didn’t know anything about bears. Couldn’t it kill her and climb back up into the trees? But she had to get her knapsack back—it contained her phone and her travel papers—if the bear hadn’t already crushed them under its massive paws. She contemplated confronting the bear with the business end of a...stick? No, ridiculous. She could just imagine her equally ridiculous tombstone: _Here lies Rey Jakku, who thought she could defeat a bear with her bare hands._ Discouraged, Rey opted for patience. Surely the bear would eventually leave. 

 

She took care to leave as much distance between herself and the beast, not realizing when BB8’s leash suddenly slipped from her grasp. 

 

“BB8, NO!”

 

But the dog ignored her, descending on the bear at full height, teeth bared and frothing at the mouth. 

 

The bear never saw her coming, too engrossed in sniffing out the food from the  open bag. It turned around brusquely, getting up on its hind legs and letting out a roar that left Rey’s whole body shaking.  BB8 retreated a few paces,  though still maintaining a defensive stance.  She certainly made up for her minuscule size with tenacity. 

 

A nightmare scenario flashed inside Rey’s mind: The bear would kill her dog, and then finish her off. 

 

_Here lies Rey Jakku, mauled by a bear on her honeymoon. She was a rebel until the very end._

 

Or even if she survived, how was she to tell the Skywalkers—wherever they were—that she had left their little doggie at the mercy of a raging bear. 

 

 

_Here lies Rey Jakku, strangled to death by a woman who loved her orange dog above all else._

 

Without second thought, she began waving her arms around to distract the bear.

 

“Hey! Baloo! Over here!”

 

With the help of a stick she found on the ground,  Rey banged on the trunk of nearby tree, still shouting at the top of her lungs. The bear turned towards her, snarling and roaring anew. 

 

Rey felt her knees wobble. 

 

_Here lies Rey Jakku, devoured by a bear at age 26. Her life was shitty._

 

The bear then proceeded to swipe a massive paw at BB8, which she easily dodged. She snapped her jaws in response. Finally, the beast got onto all four paws once more and charged suddenly. 

 

She was going to die. Without having told Finn that she forgave him. Without having told her mother she loved her. Without having the chance to slide her fingers through Ben Solo’s mesmerizing hair.

 

It was insanely stupid.

 

All of a sudden, a sharp click pierced the air, echoing off the mountain. A projectile whistled past, lodging in the trunk of the tree next to her. She didn’t immediately realize the situation. The bear stopped, jerking its head. 

 

Rey stood paralyzed, comprehending the scene at a glance. There had been a shot fired in the woods. The animal’s ear was bleeding. The moment took forever to pass. Someone was shooting at her.

 

It was just too much for her, and she fell to her knees with her hands on her head. The bear, the shooter, the sound of fire, it was all too much to process. 

 

The bear, to its credit, turned around to roar again. BB8 kept barking even as she began to run out of breath, as though she could chase the beast away with sheer perseverance. Another bullet whistled past. Rey curled up on the ground, a strangled noise escaping her. The bear growled once more and then, with agility belying its hulking frame, skittered off into the woods. 

 

Rey hesitated, still lying in fetal position against the soil. Her entire body trembled. She looked up when she felt the warmth of BB’s tongue against her hands and face. It was then that she managed to catch her breath and clamber to her feet. 

 

She gazed at the horizon, searching for traces of the bear, or the shooter. Everything was calm again. The birds that had scattered with the opening shot had once again returned to their branches. 

 

Losing her adrenaline and her ability to stand, Rey crouched on the ground once more, eventually falling onto her back. Tears of relief flowed down her cheeks. She wiped them away with the back of her trembling hand. She reached out and hugged BB8 tightly against her chest. 

 

“Bravo, girl. Good dog—what a good dog, you’re not afraid of anything, are you?”

 

A voice inside her head whispered that it was ride or die with this dog. And the invisible shooter? Rey owed whoever that was a massive debt of gratitude. 

 

Once the pounding of her heart had died down, she shouldered the remnants of her   bag and took out her Swiss knife. She used the blade to carefully carve out the bullet lodged in the trunk of the fir. The projectile was buried so deeply in the wood that she had trouble dislodging it.  When she finally managed to retrieve the gnarled piece of metal, she was overtaken by a violent burst of emotion. Someone had literally saved her life. She would have  here, thousands of miles from home— and yet she was alive and unscathed. She held the bullet in her fist before slipping it into her pocket. And then she began the lone journey back up the trail. 

* * *

 

Fifty feet away, Syed stood on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley. She put away her gun, still warm to touch. His orders echoed through her mind. 

 

_Follow the girl wherever she goes. If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you personally responsible._

 

She hadn’t thought it would be so complicated. This Rey had a supernatural ability it seemed, she was a magnet for all kinds of trouble. Keeping her in one piece was not going to be easy. 

 

It was almost three in the afternoon by the time Rey made it back to the city, exhausted and covered in scrapes and scratches. Fortunately, her car was still there and the blonde woman was nowhere to be found. She still checked to make sure that no one had slashed her tires or broken a window or stolen so much as the air freshener. No, it seemed the Falcon was a dingy yet invincible as ever. And that was the first good news she’d had all day. 

 

It was still too early to join Kylo and the knights in the marketplace so she decided to take a nap. She was still crashing from the adrenaline high and her limbs could barely move. Not to mention that she’d barely slept last night, tormented by the looming presence of the blonde and the abrupt absence of Leia Skywalker. She had the feeling tonight was going to be an equally long night. Time to recuperate while she could. 

 

She moved the car under the shade of a few trees at the very edge of the hotel parking, rolled down the windows, and let BB8 inside before blowing up her air mattress in the trunk. Just like last night. It was warm outside on that sunny summer afternoon, but a fresh breeze brushed against her skin through the open windows. And so she let go. But she wasn’t able to find sleep just yet. Something tugged at her mind, deep in her subconscious. 

 

She had almost died today. Death had flashed before her eyes, and she’d thought it was over. And in those final, terrifying moments, she had thought about three people. 

 

Finn.

 

Her mother.

 

And Ben Solo. 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, an update at last ! This is a really, really difficult task for my sweet translator who has been doing this out of pure kindness for many months now. If you wish to help with the translation from French to English, please contact me. I'm sure my translator would appreciate some help with this burden. Thank you !


	14. Chapter 14

Rey woke up around six in the afternoon. Her clothes stuck to her sweat-drenched skin, much like her hair. BB8 was lying in the back seat, chewing on her old sock.

 

She shuffled out of the car, wondering how on earth she was going to make herself presentable. She’d showered yesterday but it felt like ages ago—in a matter of hours she had sweated, taken a tumble in the leaves, wandered into a thorn bush, rolled around in a pile of nettles, fought with an actual bear, and managed to sweat even more in the aftermath. She was covered in dirt, scratches, and leaf litter. Not to mentioned that she reeked of dog slobber. At this point, a shower seemed less of a luxury and more of a necessity. But where was she going to do that?

 

She recoiled at the thought of calling Ben Solo again. Better not get too dependent, too burdensome...what kind of post-breakup-soul-searching-road-trip would this be if she was constantly relying on the first man that crossed her path? 

 

She opted for a campsite, she would have to spend the night somewhere anyway. And since she was sleeping in the car she wouldn’t have to bother with the whole tent business. She was carrying a lightweight dress and makeup essentials in her bag. It would suffice for this evening. As for BB8, she would be coming along—the poor girl—she didn’t have to spend the evening chained to the car.

 

* * *

Cigarette in hand, Ben reviewed Snoke’s responses to the leaked information from Rey’s phone as he sat on the terrace of the Town Square Tavern. 

 

According to his files, her employer—Smart Berries—was a London-based startup specializing in targeted advertising. Their app used a patented algorithm to identify potential customers for various businesses. It was nothing remotely compromising. They had zero presence abroad. Just a team of fifty people, most of them myopic computer geeks or Frappuccino-guzzling business newbies. No connection whatsoever with Earth Soldiers or FORCE. Rey’s primary contacts consisted of her ex-fiancé Finn Storm who also worked in IT, and his boyfriend Poe Dameron who was a mechanic. She went out for lunch every afternoon, paid her taxes on time, donated regularly to cancer research initiatives, and lived a generally uneventful life. No prior political engagement, revolutionary plotting, activism, or discernable link to any ecological organizations whatsoever. The investigation into Jessika Pava returned similar results. The one thing that stood out to Ben was that Rey was born to absentee parents and raised by an adopted family. 

 

“That makes two of us,” he sighed as he picked up his phone to text her his location. She would likely show up on time. 

 

In the central plaza, a crowd of onlookers had gathered to watch a group of comedians perform an Old West skit. Saloon girls strutted around in billowy red satin bloomers. Military men paraded in on horses waving the Stars and Stripes, and daring cowboys performed a mock duel with toy pistols. The crowd was in full swing, laughing and cheering along. 

 

Night fell slowly, the air still humid, the sky eventually turning pitch black. Kylo and the band dispersed into the crowd, with the exception of Syed who was still under orders to shadow Rey. Wherever she went,  Syed was never far away. Syed tore through the crowd in Ben’s direction, silently wishing she was slicing through something else entirely. 

 

Ben couldn’t help but find her beautiful, in her black leather pants, studded belt and combat boots. She stood in front of him, raising the cigarette she twirled between her fingers to her lips. 

 

“So, how was your day?” he asked, feigning indifference. 

 

“I went on a twelve mile hike, confronted a bear, saved your girlfriend’s life, and then watched her sleep for three hours. I wasn’t exactly idle. What about you?”

 

“You saved her life?” He exclaimed, no longer able to maintain a poker face.

 

“Yeah. She’ll probably tell you, she’s going to be here any minute now.” Syed responded, looking behind her as if to pick someone out of the crowd. Ben followed her gaze.

 

That’s when he saw her.

 

To this day he had only ever seen her in jeans and a t-shirt, her feet clad in ankle boots and her hair tousled at best. But now he hardly recognized the woman approaching him. 

 

Rey was wearing a blush pink silk dress and high heeled sandals that accentuated her elegant figure. The silk flowed effortlessly down her body, held up by thin straps. She had evidently forgone a bra. Her hair was swept into a loose updo, with a few rebel strands escaping to frame her lightly  made-up face. 

 

Ben suddenly felt overly warm. He swallowed the lump in his throat, cursing his own weakness as he felt a blush creeping up his face. Syed tapped him under the jaw.

 

“Close your mouth or you’re going to catch flies.” She intoned.

 

Rey held a small purse in one hand (just big enough for her phone and wallet) and a leash in the other. BB8 trotted along nearby, chewing contently on a red rubber ball that was too large for her jaw and wagging her tail excitedly. 

 

But the dog froze as soon as she caught sight of Ben, growling viciously. The sound that came out was garbled, muffled by the rubber ball. Ben rose to pull out a chair for Rey. He had a hard time finding the right words.

 

“Good evening. You look...beautiful. What will you be drinking?” 

 

“Margarita, thanks.”

 

She sat down, hanging the leash on the back of her chair. BB8’s eyes were still glued to Ben as the growling continued. He looked down on her disdainfully and contemplated a swift kick in her direction. The dog was easily within  range of his boot—but that would surely ruin the evening. He gingerly moved his foot away. 

 

Syed broke her silence, crushing the end of her lipstick-stained cigarette into an ashtray. “I’m going to see what Saul is up to. Call me if you need me Kylo, I’ve got my cell.”

 

Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heels and disappeared into the sea of passers by. A waitress brought a margarita for Rey and a  pint of Rainier for Ben. They clinked glasses.

 

“So, did you have a good day?” Ben asked finally, strangely hesitant. 

 

“I don’t know,” Rey replied, taking a long sip of the sugary tequila concoction through her straw. She looked up at Ben with gleaming eyes. “I fought a bear...”

 

“Oh, you too?” Ben asked, immediately regretting his untimely slip up.

 

Rey frowned, obviously perplexed. “What do you mean, me too? Do you know a lot of people who have fought bears?” 

 

“Er no I meant—I thought it was just some British expression or something—to say that you’ve had a rough day?” 

 

Rey burst out laughing. 

 

Nice save.

 

“No, but it could be! Believe it or not, I fought an actual bear.”

 

Ben’s eyes widened. “If you fought a bear there’s no way you would have escaped, unscathed, to tell the tale.”

 

“You don’t believe me?” Rey feigned offense. “Would you bet on it?”

 

“A bet?” Ben took a gulp of his beer. He didn’t like where this conversation was headed. What the hell was the story with this bear? He knew Rey was danger-prone but this was too much even for her. “Alright, you’re on. What are the conditions?”

 

Rey lit up instantly. She had Ben right where she wanted him. He wasn’t particularly well dressed this evening but she found a surprising amount of grace, watching him in the dimming glow of twilight. His shoulders were massive and his mouth too large, his nose too long and his ears slightly too big for his face. She had lost count of his beauty marks. But it all seemed to work, his features coming together in atypical harmony. What she really liked was his hair. It fell in thick waves to the nape of his neck and she suddenly had the urge to run her fingers through it. The idea of sliding her nails through was enough to make heat bloom in her stomach. 

 

She crossed her legs to clamp down on the impulse as she feigned an air of nonchalance. “If I can prove that I fought a bear today, you have to...let me pleat your hair.” 

 

Ben broke out into a laugh—the genuine  sort of laughter that Rey had never heard from him before. She smiled. It suited him, tracing dimples along his cheeks and revealing a row of slightly imperfect teeth. The nth little flaw that added to the equilibrium of his face. 

 

“No way,” he finally managed after he caught his breath. 

 

Disappointed, Rey pressed her lips into an exaggerated pout. “Tell me, what would you counter, then?” Rey asked politely. 

 

“If I win you have to teach your dog to like me,” Ben replied without missing a beat.

 

Rey smiled inwardly, she was touched by the fact that he wanted to make friends with BB. She couldn’t help but find his intentions adorable. 

 

“Alright,” she agreed, but only if you let me do your hair.”

 

“Okay.”

 

That would cost him. He wasn’t afraid of looking ridiculous—what he was really afraid of was the feel of her fingers running against his scalp. Would he be able to keep himself in check? What if she noticed he was half-hard? But the truth was he had a lot to gain if he won the bet.

 

Rey grinned triumphantly, reaching into her bag to take out a piece of metal which she placed on the table. 

 

Ben held it between his fingertips. “What is this? A bullet?”

 

“Yep. It belongs to the hunter who scared the bear off,” she confirmed.

 

“The bear...that you fought with?” Ben had a hard time buying it. 

 

Rey launched into a story, gesticulating wildly as she recounted her adventure: BB8, the chipmunk, the bear and the invisible shooter. 

 

Ben licked his lips. It all corresponded with what Syed had so succinctly reported: Confronted a bear, saved your girlfriend’s life. He could have denied it, could have asked for additional evidence that she would never be able to supply. But he already knew it was true. What point would there be in antagonizing her and calling her a liar?

 

He nodded. “Okay, you win.”

 

Rey raised her arms in victory, it was her turn to laugh. “Are you ready for a makeover?”

 

“Here?” Ben sputtered incredulously.

 

Rey grinned mischievously. “It’ll happen whenever and wherever I choose tonight,” she countered, sipping on the rest of her cocktail. She was hungry too, her stomach growled in complaint. 

 

And so they ordered pizza. BB8 perked up at the scent. She didn’t hesitate to butt the table with her snout in begging for a slice. 

 

Rey caught Ben’s attention. “Give her a little piece,” she whispered, “and then pet her gently. She’ll warm up to you.”

 

Ben obeyed, albeit with caution. The dog growled, but was unable to resist the temptation of hot pizza. She swallowed the piece whole with a single movement of her jaw. Ben slowly retrieved his hand. BB reclaimed her rightful place next to Rey, who stroked her affectionately. 

 

“That’s it, good dog. See him? That’s Ben. You’ll get used to him eventually. I’m sure he’ll give you more pizza, and you’ll be friends. What do you say, Ben?”

 

“I...suppose, yes.” He wasn’t quite at ease with the animal but in order for the mission to succeed, he would have to be able to approach Rey.

 

She finished her pizza and ordered a second margarita, all the while licking the salt on the rim of the glass from her fingers. She raised her honey colored eyes to Ben. 

 

“So l’ll summarize what I know about you: you play music, you drive a big pickup, and you have history with the lead guitarist. Who are you, Ben Solo? Is music your business or your pleasure?”

 

He diverted his gaze. He had no intention of stumbling this time. “I tour with the band for a month at a time but...the rest of the time I work at a multinational company in Silicon Valley.”

 

“Oh? You’re in tech?” 

 

“No, it’s in the industrial sector. What about you?” He turned the tables on her ”I know that you’re British, that you’re single as of late, that you like music and hiking, and that you fear solitude. What do you do in life, Rey?”

 

She blushed. “My title is Office Experience Manager. I work in HR at a startup where I handle the well-being of the team. I make sure that they like what we do and are happy with where they are.”

 

That was definitely her calling. There was something luminous about her, she was like sunshine. He didn’t doubt for an instant that she brought happiness wherever she went. Ben himself was so taciturn—more like moonlight—and yet he found himself changing in her presence.

 

“Why do you think that I fear solitude?” She asked, dreading the response.

 

Ben’s hand reached out and gently swept a loose lock of hair behind her ear. She trembled slightly, making his palm brush against her cheek. She was warm to the touch. He didn’t move his hand, somehow frozen in the moment. Rey closed her eyes. 

 

“You say you’re travelling alone, but you keep coming back to me, again and again,” he murmured breathlessly, “why?”

 

“You’re the first person I met here, when I was in the depths of hell. You helped me,  in your own way. Brash and intrusive...quintessentially American.”

 

Ben’s palm cupped her cheek. His hands were massive, he could have held her whole face in that palm.

 

“Rey.”

 

She blinked, coming back to her senses.

 

“Come.”

 

He rose, depositing a handful of cash on the table. She took the hand he offered her. 

 

“What about BB8?” She asked softly.

 

“We’re not going very far. She can wait a few minutes.”

 

Rey let Ben pull her away—pull her in—far from the crowd. He lead her down the alley, a shelter away from prying eyes and public lighting. He grabbed her wrist, pinning her against the wall. Rey gulped. He was so close, and his gaze was so intense. He licked his lips, a tick that she had noticed on the first day they met. It gave away his apprehension. Or was it anticipation?

 

Slowly, she lifted her hands, and with a slight tremble, buried them in the dark waves of his hair. Obeying an irrepressible instinct, he took her face in both hands and crushed her mouth to his.


	15. Chapter 15

It was a tidal wave.

 

Rey could feel the heat coursing through her veins. Ben’s mouth on hers, his tongue seeking her lips, his hands gripping her face and his hardness against her abdomen. 

 

As though she was being burned alive. 

 

A moan reverberated through his throat as she ran her fingers through his hair, almost tearing her mouth from his. But Ben refused to let go. It would take more than that to stop him from having his fill of her. He wanted her, his desire desperate and insatiable. 

 

His hand descended on the nape of her neck, her throat, gliding over her breast and gently palming one nipple. The feel of it pulsed through him, heat curling painfully in his body as his jeans suddenly became too tight. 

 

He ran his tongue along the seam of her lips, begging entrance into her mouth. They parted easily, welcoming his tongue with fervor. Both he and Rey acted on pure instinct as though driven by invisible forces beyond their control. 

 

Ben’s hand trailed down further, drifting past her lower back and settling between her thighs. In one motion his body was flush against hers. She was braced against the hard plane of his body—against the hardness pressing through his jeans—as he kissed her again and again, tasting her lips, seeking her tongue, swallowing her gasps and  the slickness of her mouth. His longing for every last drop of her was all-consuming. 

 

What was his objective again? 

 

Rey, meanwhile, let herself be swept away. Every inch of her skin cried out for his attention. She hadn’t had a good lay in weeks, for lack of a partner. And come to think of it, she hadn’t slept with anyone other than Finn in years, to the point where she knew his body by heart. Somehow she had forgotten the sultry feeling of new desire that was currently rekindling like a flame within her body. And for once she let it burn, she let it overcome her. It coursed through her veins, twisting through her insides as it coiled in her belly and slid down the swollen delta between her thighs. She had already made a mess of her underthings. 

 

Her hands left the thickness of his hair to explore the rest of him: cupping his cheek, grasping his shoulder, caressing his chest, and tracing the outline of his lower abdomen before—very gingerly— placing a hand on the front of his zipper. A moan escaped him, the cracked sound betraying the depth of his feelings for her. 

 

The fire in Rey burned anew, and Ben could feel her vibrating beneath his touch as he dug his fingers into the underside of her bottom to lift her up against the wall. He pulled her forward and she readily wrapped her legs around his waist, sighing contently when her pulsing core finally made contact with his clothed erection. The friction of their bodies was unparalleled. She was sure that if they hadn’t been in plain view they would have stripped to the flesh and finished right there, not even pausing to breathe. 

 

* * *

 

Syed scrolled through the series of photos she had just taken from a few meters away, saving each one. 

 

“What are you playing at?” A frigid voice questioned her accusingly. Shakti looked over at her, arms crossed in the epitome of disapproval. For lack of a better response, Syed scrambled to put her phone away. 

 

 

Shakti was the paragon of beauty: tanned skin, straight nose, sleek hair, and ruby red painted lips. But her features currently twisted into a lethal glare. Of course, Shakti couldn’t pretend to ignore the fact that Kylo had found a fuck buddy in their target. But—unlike Syed—she had no bones to pick and she respected the rules. And the first rule of the Knights of Ren was that no one questioned Kylo‌‘s methods.

 

“Quit fucking around, Syed, why the fuck are you taking photos? You know loose lips sink ships—give me that pho—“ 

 

“In your dreams!” Syed hissed, curling her hand protectively over her pocket to make sure the phone was still there. 

 

“Look, I get it,” Shakti continued in a gentler voice. “You have the right to be upset. He ghosted you and that wasn’t cool. But that’s how it is with all of us. I made out with Kylo too—more than a couple times. But we both knew it meant nothing. Don’t dwell on it, you’re the best of us and he’s counting on you.”

 

“If I’m the best, what makes you think you should be the one questioning me?”

 

“Because you’re about to make a mistake, it happens even to the best of us.”

 

“Not to me,” Syed retorted through gritted teeth, shoving Shakti with her shoulder as she took her leave by disappearing into the crowd again. 

 

Shakti rolled her eyes. She consulted her phone for the time—Nine o’clock already. The sighs coming from a shadowy corner of the wall confirmed the hypothesis that she wouldn’t be seeing Kylo anytime soon. She would have to talk to him tomorrow about the Syed debacle. In the meanwhile,  found herself equally unwilling to spend the night alone in her room. Maybe Kelsi would agree to come up with her...

 

* * *

 

The fact that their bodies were now separated only by the thinnest of garments was both trivial and insurmountable. Ben was still holding her when he felt the telltale vibration of a phone. Rey noticed too; it was coming from her bag. 

  

She pulled her mouth away from Ben’s in order to catch her breath. He took advantage of the respite to slide his lips up the curve of her neck and bite down on her earlobe. Rey’s head rolled backward and she gripped his shoulder to steady herself, while using her other hand to reach for her phone. She managed to maintain her balance, her thighs trapping his waist as she continued to grind against his hardness in a dizzying rhythm even as she illuminated the screen. 

 

She froze when she looked down. 

 

“Shit, it’s Poe.” 

 

“Fuck it, don’t answer him.” Ben murmured breathlessly, mouth still occupied with her neck. 

 

“It’s four AM in England right now. This has to be important, I should see what it is.”

 

Rey’s body slipped from his embrace. Her playful mood dissipated as she slid her thumb over the screen. “What, Poe?”

 

Ben rolled his eyes. He set her down again and took a step back to give her privacy for the call. He missed the taste of her skin already; he had hoped he would get to taste the rest of her. 

 

To hell with it, hang up.

 

As soon as she hung up he was going to pick up where they left off. It was easy to imagine  himself slipping his fingers into her underwear to make her come, right there in the middle of the basement. He lit a cigarette to keep his hands occupied. 

 

Rey had distanced herself by a few paces, one hand pressed to her ear to better hear the muffled voice on the other side. He saw the moment her face fell. A few minutes later, she hung up wordlessly. Ben’s eyes grew wider as he waited for her to say something. She avoided his gaze. 

 

“Finn was assaulted. He’s at the hospital. He and Poe ran into a group of ruffians outside a restaurant, they both took a beating.” She finally managed.

 

“You mean they got mugged or something? What was stolen?” Ben asked naively. 

 

“No,” she whispered hoarsely. “It was a hate crime. They were physically assaulted because they were two guys who dared to hold hands in the street. Poe suffered a broken rib, but he’ll be fine. Finn hasn’t woken up at all.”

 

She could feel hot tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Finn was in a coma. Because he fell in love with the wrong person. A dark thought took root in her mind: what if it was because she hadn’t loved him enough? And so he went looking for someone better—which resulted in him being assaulted—while she wasn’t even around to support him...it was all her fault.

 

Ben pressed a comforting hand to her cheek, using his thumb to wipe a stray tear away. 

 

“Hey, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”

 

Rey felt her lip tremble. She had loved Finn with everything in her naive heart. There had remained a week (and a Poe) between them and marital bliss. And now he lay dying, thousands of miles away, while she was salivating over some  man she had only met three days ago. Someone who already called her sweetheart, like they had known each other for ages. She didn’t know anything about him, but she knew this: he wasn’t Finn and he didn’t need her right now. Finn needed her most now that she wasn’t even there. 

 

Her train of thought had crashed long ago. She couldn’t possibly find the words, they refused to come to her mouth. Newly sober, she adjusted her dress and re-tied her hair. 

 

“I need to call Jessika. And the hospital. I can’t just stand here and pretend to have a good time. I have to reach them,” she said, quietly adding, “I’m sorry but I’ll call you, promise.” 

 

The arousal in Ben’s veins turned to ice. Rey refused to look him in the eye. _I’ll call you_. That’s exactly what he said to girls after a one night stand, before closing the door and never calling again. It was an unequivocal rejection. But Ben wasn’t prepared to let her go so easily. It felt like all the oxygen had been sucked out of the air. He could barely breathe. 

 

He grabbed her arm as she turned to leave, forcing her to face him.

 

“Rey, stay...I can help you.”

 

The ideas sprang into his mind: he could contact someone in the London division of FORCE to find the perpetrators and make them pay. Would that make her feel better? He could get in contact with the hospital and wire them some money to provide better care for Finn. Was that what she wanted? But he couldn’t articulate any of that before Rey wrenched her hand away. 

 

“Help me how, exactly? Fuck me so hard that I forget my fiancé?” Her face was red, from the anger or from the tears. The sudden change in demeanor took him by surprise. 

 

“No, I—I’m here for you. I’ve got your back.” He amended. 

 

She gave him a once-over, as if really seeing him for the first time. “I don’t even know you. I need to be alone right now, to call home, to watch over him—even if it’s at a distance.”

 

She refused to let Ben sway her decision, it was hers and hers alone.  She wanted to share Finn's suffering, hold his hand, be there when he woke up. She was angry at herself for being so far away, so helpless.  How could she take such sensual, sexual pleasure in the arms of a man she barely knew, while Finn was between life and death? She blamed herself for having forgotten it. For having forgotten her grief so quickly as she made love, as she gave herself, body and soul, to another man. The thought devastated her to the point of breakage. She’d forgotten Finn as rapidly as she had jumped into Ben’s arms. Did that mean that she never loved Finn as deeply as she thought? Was she such a heartless disgrace of a fiancé? She hated to see herself as such. 

 

She went to grab BB’s leash despite her unsteady gait. Without another word to Ben, without looking back, she walked away in the direction of the car. Using her right hand, she shakily dialed the hospital’s front desk. 

 

“Dammit!” Ben growled as he kicked a chair so hard that it collapsed before hitting the floor. The resulting screech of metal on concrete made the onlookers jump.

 

He stood there like a fool, with a raging election that refused to subside, his mouth smeared with Rey’s lipstick. He could still taste her on his tongue. Syed was in pursuit. Still, they had made zero process on the mission. 

 

Utter failure. 

 

To make matters worse, the investigation in London had hit a wall. The connection between Rey and Leia Skywalker remained a mystery. No one could figure out the rebel strategy regarding the mine closure in Northern California.

 

He still had to perform tonight to justify their little outing and maintain his cover. When all he wanted to do was bash his damn head in.

 

But worst of all, he didn’t care. 

 

 None of that mattered.

 

 Rey had relapsed. She had just emerged from the water, escaped from the self-destructive cycle that kept her prisoner. For a second everything was perfect.  But she just plunged back. And he had no way of helping her. 

 

 Fourth of July fireworks lit up the night sky, but neither Ben nor Rey looked up to admire them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, P., for translating this chapter! Sorry for the cock-block, sorry for Finn ! All my poor babies deserve better. T__T


	16. Intermission

Intermission

 

 Leia Skywalker didn’t recognize the number on her phone screen. Granted, it was a prehistoric model, just good enough to transmit and receive calls.  No GPS, no cloud-backed messaging apps, no network connection at all. Her number was known only to a handful of people: her lawyer Amylin Holdo, her brother Luke Skywalker, her second-in command Rose Tico, and Lando Calrissian, her late husband’s best friend...and maybe one or two more former colleagues. 

After a long pause, she answered:

“Skywalker.”

“Leia, it’s Galen.”

She choked on her next breath. 

“Galen? Hang the hell up, do you hear me? Don’t ever call me at this number, it’s traceable—“

“No, no!  Don’t hang up!  I bought a chip, this is a burner. I’ll toss it right after I’m done. Leia, there is movement at FORCE. I have reason to believe that Phasma and Hux are after me.” 

“Why do you think that?”

“They fired all trainees and part-time contracts to prevent an "information leak".  They carried out  interrogations in the IT and legal departments.  They're looking for the mole! "

"They have nothing.” Leia answered  in a somewhat unconvincing tone. “They’re all bluffing.”

”How can you be so sure?  I’m taking a huge risk staying on the job. I could be terminated at any given moment!”

“Galen Erso, calm yourself.” Leia ordered, snapping back into general mode as though she was addressing an infantryman.  “If they had the slightest suspicion against you, they would have already outed you. They’re looking for a needle in a haystack. Whatever you do, keep quiet.  If they question you, stick to the plan.”

“But I—“

“I will send you a new chip through our usual way. I’ll contact you via this number.  Do not make waves—if FORCE is running around in panic, that’s a good sign. Only two weeks left before the trial, and then you won’t have to worry.”

She hung up. What she felt inside was more tumultuous, not half as confident as the appearances so carefully maintained.  Each of her soldiers had absolute faith in her;  if she went down, they would go down with her. 

She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. This could end tomorrow and it wouldn’t be soon enough. They had just over two weeks left, and then it would all be over...theoretically. 

 

* * *

Galen Erso removed the chip from the phone and crushed it under his heel, throwing the tiny piece of metal into a trash can on the sidewalk. This whole affair had gotten the better of him. He looked down at the patches of eczema on his hands. His hair was thinning too, for lack of sleep. When he had contacted Luke Skywalker months ago, he hadn’t imagined himself caught in a whirlwind of this magnitude. He was just an engineer, a network technician. He had stumbled upon various incriminating encrypted documents while restoring Hux’s computer after a false-alarm system breach. 

There they were: official documents from the Hoopa Valley Indian Reserve government confirming the existence of precious ore underground, and the contract with FORCE to mine the area in a bid for monstrous profit. Galen, a fifty-something family man who loved fly-fishing and frequent outings in the outdoors, understood the implications of opening up a new mine. Besides destroying the landscape, it put the ecosystem of the whole forest at stake. 

The documents had suggested that arsenic and mercury, poisonous heavy metals used to isolate the ore from the rock, would be released in large quantities into the adjacent river. It was going to be an ecological disaster. In light of these revelations, there was no chance that this project would see the light of day: the state of California would never authorize the construction of such a monstrosity, let alone upstream of Indian territory, where they would have to hold additional discussions with the reservation’s government. 

Yet a quick search in Armitage Hux's files had allowed him to discover that Governor Valorum had approved it, against all common sense. 

So Galen had taken note of Armitage Hux's passwords, and hacked FORCE’s network from home, the very same network he had been paid to build, and dig deeper into the mystery.

Terrified by his discoveries, and all too aware of the risk of going to prison if  FORCE got wind of his indiscretions, he made contact with the network of ecologists most likely to listen: Earth Soldiers. Infamous for their vehemence towards multinational corporations, as well as for the grand fallout between its former stakeholders. The conflict between the Skywalker clan and the enterprise led by Snoke and Hux was hardly a secret. No one knew better than Luke and Leia what it felt like to become outcasts. Even after losing everything to FORCE, they had to pay millions of dollars in a defamation lawsuit. They had nothing to lose. 

They were broke,  surviving solely on the  charity of their donors—rich strangers who engaged in virtue signaling by making a check every year to what appeared to be a hippie band talking to the birds.

Luke Skywalker was still living in San Francisco, keeping an eye on the FORCE tower, which cast a long shadow over the bay.  Galen Erso had met him in the backroom of a cantina where he had handed over all the documents he had copied from Hux's confidential files.

The plan was simple: Galen stayed in place, continued to collect information and above all, made sure not to get caught. 

His data was smuggled to Luke. Never through email, never on any device with an internet connection: he knew all too well that anyone could hack the system in the same way that he did. 

The documents, stored on a micro-SD no bigger than a fingernail, would be handed over to Leia and her lawyer, Amylin Holdo.  The women were the centerpiece of their plan. Luke Skywalker was too old, too cantankerous, and too well-surveilled to pull it off.  He couldn’t buy fries at a Jack in the Box without Hux and Snoke knowing the menu in detail.

Meanwhile, Leia remained in her shelter in the shadow of the Rockies, near the Denver military base where she had lived all her life, met the man who would become her husband, and raised a son who would turn away from her.

There, she was almost forgotten. The last act of this sinister tragedy thus began.

 

Galen waited for instructions from Leia Skywalker even as the anxiety ate him alive.

The lawyers crafted their game plan.  Earth Soldiers soldiers mobilized media and networks, to the satisfaction of FORCE’s white-collar lawyers, who were delighted by the free advertising.

Governor Valorum bit his nails despite smiling at the camera, his jaw clenched and his neck dripping with sweat.

Snoke, Hux, and their field operative Phasma refused to underestimate their enemies and redoubled their efforts.

The infamous Kylo Ren, secretly Ben Solo, paced the length of a hotel room, frustrated, humiliated, and obsessed with a young British maverick who had the resourcefulness and the virtue to escape him at every turn.

Rey Jakku, oblivious to the chess board unfurling around her, scratched BB8’s head as the dog lay in her lap, cried silently on a long-distance call to England.


	17. Chapter 17

“Fucking hell!” Ben yelled as his coffee mug shattered against the bedroom wall. 

 

Rey had left the premises. Yesterday he’d had her, in every sense of the word, and this morning she had turned on him. He had been this close—this fucking close—to getting her to trust him for good.

 

_To getting into her panties you mean_ , snarked his subconscious, _cause that would turn out so well._  

 

Yeah, well so what? We’re both consenting adults here. What’s wrong with a little pleasure now and then? 

 

It was Syed who sounded the alarm.  As reckless and undisciplined as she was, she was still his best Knight of Ren. He would hate to fire her, even though he would not hesitate to do it, if necessary.

 

She had called him at three in the morning to inform him that Rey Jakku had repacked her car and left the parking lot;  hitting the road again in record time.

 Syed had followed yet again, evidently taking her assignment seriously. At least he would always know where his mystery girl was hiding.

 

 On the other hand, he had just lost one of his guitarists for the concert this evening, which annoyed him more than he wanted to admit. But the advantage of having seven band members was that they could afford to run a few errands and still keep the show running. 

 

 Hayat and Neil, his two-person light and sound crew, would roll up in their van any minute now to set up the venue. The entire  day would be devoted to equipment tests and a rapid dress-rehearsal of the set list, a task even more essential in the absence of Syed.  Ben would have preferred to take his car and follow Rey, join her, tell her he was sorry—or whatever it would take to convince her to come back—and resume exactly where they had left off the day before.

 

 She’d talked about following them on tour.  Would she follow through? 

 

 His phone rang, the screen displaying a stern visage with a severely parted red combover. 

 

Hux. 

 

 "Ren.” He uttered curtly, putting the phone up to his ear.

 

 “Hello, Kylo. How are your holidays going?”

 

 “Even on vacation I'm more efficient than you’ll ever be in the office. Let’s just say it’s going well.”

 

 “Where are you?”

 

 “We’re rehearsing for tonight's concert, the weather is nice and the hot tub is fantastic.” Ben replied with a smirk, knowing full well that Armitage Hux detested distractions.

 

 The latter gave an exasperated sigh, as expected.  "For fuck’s sake, I’m not the Yellowstone Tourism Office—I'm talking about your mission!”

 

 “And what, exactly, do you want to know about my mission?”

 

 “What are you doing and with whom? Did you get information on what Earth Soldiers is planning?”

 

 "Are you saying you and Snoke are floundering?” Ben laughed.  “Don’t you have an army of spies, and twice as many lawyers? How is my mother managing to outmaneuver you?”

 

 "When I'm done with your mother, you'll have to pick her out of the gutter, Ren.”

 

 "You’re all talk," Ben chuckled. “I feel like she’s playing with your head.”

 

 There was a long silence filled only by Hux’s agitated breathing. His final response was venomous.”Exactly which side are you on? You seem to enjoy our setbacks a little too much.”

 

“I’m on my side,” he responded, “and I answer to Snoke and Snoke alone. Pay attention to your own mission and leave me to mine.”

 

He hung up without waiting for an answer.  He knew what Hux was looking for: he wanted to know everything about Earth Soldiers' latest spy, Rey Jakku.  But Ben would not give him anything of such importance. Rey was his mission, his target, his prize.  Phasma had missed her chance.  Too bad for her—From now on, Rey was his.  And soon enough, she would be his in every sense of the word. 

 

His phone vibrated again with a new call. This time, Ben's smile dissipated. It was Snoke.

 

 “Sir?”

 

 “Kylo Ren.  I was waiting for a report from you this morning. Have I missed it by mistake? Because I don’t make mistakes.”

 

“No sir.  I —I didn’t send one.”

 

 “And you will send it to me at the end of this call, I suppose?”

 

 “No sir.”

 

 “Explain yourself.”

 

 Snoke’s barely audible voice had lost its saccharine undertones. Ben inhaled deeply before uttering his next words. 

 

“The—the girl escaped me. But I’m tracking her as we speak, I know exactly where she is and what she’s doing.”

 

 “What exactly is your strategy, Kylo Ren?  Follow her like a good little pet and contentedly snap up whatever pieces of information she deigns to give you?”

 

 “No, I—I’m in control of the situation, sir.” Ben stammered, taken aback. “I will soon extract the information we need from her.”

 

Snoke had really gone for the kill. His strategy, which had been flawless as far as his argument with Hux was concerned, suddenly seemed doomed to fail. 

 

 Snoke continued: "Stop beating around the bush, Kylo Ren. Find her. Demand answers. Make it so. I want to know what she's scheming, her connection to Earth Soldiers, and especially whatever it is she has with Leia Skywalker.”

 

 Ben Solo shuddered at hearing his mother's name laced with so much hatred. She hadn’t always been a good mother; she had rarely listened, and she had been far too absent. But she remained his mother, and she largely paid the price for his indiscretions, condemned to die of old age in solitude under her prefabricated tin roof. He clenched his fist and took another breath. 

 

 “Yes, sir.”

 

 “Good.  Oh, and Kylo Ren?”

 

“Yes, sir?”

 

“Stop blundering about like a teenage boy. She's the one manipulating you here. Enough games; I demand results.”

 

 Ben frowned. Blundering? He hadn’t let anything slip, he was sure.  He feigned ignorance:

 

 “I fail to see what you're talking about, sir.  I have the situation under control.”

 

 "Don’t you dare lie to me, Kylo Ren. Do not forget what you owe me.”

 

 “I won’t forget, sir.”

 

 “Good.  I'll call you back soon.”

 

 And with that, he hung up. 

 

Seconds later, he received a series of text messages from Snoke’s personal number. He selected the first, puzzled.

 

 His heart skipped a beat. 

 

 It was a picture of him and Rey from the day before, passionately making out against a wall at the bar. His right hand disappeared under her dress and hers was visibly splayed against his fly. 

 

_There’s your blunder, Solo. How did Snoke find them?  Who took these pictures?_

 

* * *

 

 Behind the wheel of her SUV, Syed drained a can of Red Bull and crushed the empty aluminium vessel between her fingers.  She had hardly slept thanks to this wild goose chase of a mission. Just yesterday she had found herself forced to trudge through a six mile hike (off the main trail too, so as not to alert Jane Doe or her dog)  after which she had to use her gun to chase off a bear...how was one girl able to cause her so much fatigue?  

 

And it was a fucking bear, no less. It had taken all her concentration, all her will, to just aim close enough to hurt the bear to make it run away without a fatal injury—even as an assassin in the service of a nebulous multinational conglomerate, she was unwilling to kill a bear for no reason. Or kill the girl. At least by accident. 

 

Definitely by accident. 

 

 It would have been so easy. An isolated bullet, fired from her vantage point atop the rocks, and the corpse would have been found three days later.

 

 No more spy hunting, no more love triangles. Kylo would mourn for a few days of course, frustrated at not being able to add her to the notches on his bedpost, but she would console him instead, and everything would be back to normal.

 

 Who was she kidding?  Kylo would have immediately understood, and he would have killed her.  Maybe literally, even.  He would have resorted to making her life hell, or putting an end to it. He wouldn’t even need to get his hands dirty. An order to Shakti, or Skylar, and Syed would have had no chance. It would be impossible to face six knights alone.

 

 "Patience," she repeated to herself.  "The time will come, the girl will step out of his life, and everything will go back to normal. And you, you will shine in your devotion, he will respect even more, and he will come back to you.”

 

 She had been surprised to see Rey tear herself away from Kylo's embrace the night before. As it were, she had expected her to fuck him on the spot.

 

 But no, something had happened, Rey had adjusted her dress before striding off. Did Kylo say something stupid?  That would be typical of him...all his bravado was a front. 

 

 Rey had returned to her car, and Syed had thought she was about to lose her mark. By the time she found her own vehicle, she had no idea what direction the Falcon had taken. 

 

But she managed to find it at a campsite fifteen minutes later. Rey was huddled in a sweatshirt while crying her eyes out over the phone. Syed could only hear bits and pieces, but she was able to glean that Rey was calling contacts in England: her mother, a girlfriend, and a guy named Poe.  Nothing of grand importance to FORCE, and not in connection with Earth Soldiers.

 

 She was either the best spy Syed had ever encountered, or the most incompetent person in history. Perhaps this Rey debacle was a red herring, a little fantasy whipped up by the cunning Leia Skywalker. She knew FORCE hated the Millennium Falcon, the unofficial mascot of their resistance crew. It was genius, really. Put a no-name extra in there and have her drive aimlessly across the country. All the while FORCE mobilized an army of agents to track her, and Ren’s team spent precious time investigating a trap. Time that Skywalker spent plotting with her counsel. It was just a diversion.

 

Brilliant. 

 

Nevertheless, there was only one way to find out for sure, and for that she had to keep spying on the girl, hour by hour.

 

 Said girl refused to sleep, opting instead to take the road north. Access to Yellowstone was closed at night, so Rey had stopped at a nearby gas station to refuel, buy a coffee and a cold-cut sandwich, and take a nap in the back of her car. 

 

 She entered Yellowstone National Park at 9:30 AM, through the south gate. Syed followed, finding herself inching through the morning line, a few vehicles away. She cradled her face in her hands. 

 

 Yellowstone, really? Did Rey intend to engage in actual tourism?! 

 

 And why not?  Rey was tired.  Tired of having slept too little, tired of being alone, tired of having no one to talk to.  As she drove through the national park in the direction of the Tourist Information Center and the infamous Old Faithful geyser, she wondered what she was fleeing, who she was fleeing. 

 

Her mind kept coming back to Ben Solo.  To his mouth, to his hands, to the outline of his body that she had been able to trace under his clothes. Why then was she running away?  Finn had left her, after all;  how long should she grieve what she had before?

 

 She had admitted to Jessika yesterday how she had clung to Ben like a life raft against the tide of her own loneliness. But it had been too fast, too intense. She seemed to panic at the thought of having to let him go one day. It was the sinking sort of anxiety that had clung to her bones since childhood, the fear of being unloved, never good enough for her absentee parents who worked such long hours that they barely had time for her. It had been the same with Finn, she clung to him so desperately that she never saw the signs, however obvious they appeared in hindsight. 

 

 And eventually, Finn had rejected her too.  Then she had left, alone, as if to prove to herself that she was capable of it; and had thrown herself—with an almost laughable sense of relief— into the arms of the next man she encountered. 

 

 Ben Solo seen through her very soul when he observed, aloud, that she feared loneliness. Was she so easy to read?

 

 BB8 squeaked her toy and Rey smiled.  She was never truly alone. She was the guardian of this adorable fur ball, and she was going to bring her back to her master, wherever he was hiding. It was simple: take care of the dog, bring her home. That she could do. At least then she was of use to someone. 

 

On the passenger seat, her phone vibrated. Rey reached out and grabbed it without letting go of the steering wheel. A new text appeared on her lock screen. 

 

 It was Ben.

 

> Sorry for last night, I hope he gets better and I hope you’re feeling better too. Will you make the concert tonight? Call me. 
> 
> ⁃Kylo 

 

 She made a face, he really had to sign it as Kylo. 

 

 What a bloody ridiculous stage name.

 

 Rey had the feeling she was witnessing a veritable identity crisis: On one hand there was Ben Solo, the sentimental stranger who commiserated in her loneliness and wanted to befriend her dog. On the other there was Kylo Ren, the arrogant, leather clad rockstar who would kiss and tell, with absolutely no strings attached. 

 

Who was she out with last night?

 

Which one of them did she kiss?

 

She wouldn’t go to the concert she decided, she didn’t feel like answering him either. But she knew his next show was going to be at West Yellowstone in two days. 

 

In the meantime, she would have plenty of time to ruminate. 


	18. Chapter 18

Rey traveled south through Yellowstone for another two hours, admiring the beauty of the landscape around her: Sprawling rivers, steep slopes, verdant forests, and picturesque vistas blooming with yellow and red... 

 

At 45 miles an hour, the speed limit was perfect for behind-the-wheel contemplation. The road was busy, no doubt filled with Americans who took maximal advantage of the national holiday by asking for a few more days off around the same time. The traffic was dense and she was obligated to slow down.

 

The road she had chosen took her far north from the southern entrance of the park, depositing her in Hunt Thumb Geyser Basin, where she was to join the circular loop that traversed the diameter of the park. It was time to take a break.

No one forgot their first geyser when they visited Yellowstone.

 

It was easy for frequent visitors and campers to forget such majesty when the park had so many of them. But for Rey, it was a first, and she lacked the words to express her sheer wonder at the sight. 

 

Translucent streams of boiling water pooled in massive basins and flowed into the lakes below, creating a soft, steamy mist that glided over sedimentary rock and bubbled gently over the muddy banks. It was fascinating to watch. Finn would have loved to see it, she thought with no small amount of chagrin. Hadn’t they planned their entire honeymoon around Yellowstone?

 

Consulting her phone, she realized that it would be late enough in the morning to be able to call home. 

 

“Hello, Rey,” Her heart felt too tight for her chest.

It was Poe who answered on the first ring. She was still furious she had to listen to the voice of the man who had ruined her once peaceful life. Still, she made an effort to keep the venom out of her voice. “Oh, yes, hello. How is he? Any news?”

 

“Nothing new, he’s the same as last night. They hooked him up to a ventilator. Rey, if—if you could see what they did to him,” she could hear Poe’s voice braking. “I have photos, evidence for the police, but I don’t know if...if you would even want to see them?”

 

Rey hesitated. Should she see them? Should she look upon the face she kissed a thousand times to find it broken and disfigured? She chewed on her lip. It was time to stop running from her problems.

 

“Yeah. Send them to me, I want to see what you’ve been through. I’m sorry I’m not there in person—“

 

“You have nothing to be sorry for, you did nothing wrong.” Poe interrupted her, “and you have the right to be angry too...about what happened, I’m...I’m sorry about that.”

 

“Oh, really? You’re sorry?”

 

“Yeah, I never wanted it to end up like this. What you guys had, it was so—“

 

“Oh, spare me your act, Poe. Would you dare tell me that if you could go back you wouldn’t do it all over again?”

 

Poe was silent. Rey listened to his unsteady breathing on the other side.  There was no good answer to this question. If he admitted regretting his decision to become Finn’s beau, then he wasn’t truly in love. But if he didn’t regret breaking Rey's marriage, then she was entitled hate him. 

 

“That’s what I thought.” Rey snapped, her voice frigid. “You're not sorry in the least...so you'll excuse me if I don’t feel like having this conversation right now.”

 

"I understand.” Poe replied.

 

 There was no need to elaborate. Her wounds were still fresh. 

 

 She took a deep breath. In the name of Finn's health, she would put aside her injured pride. 

 

 “What do the doctors say?  Will he recover?”

 

 “Cranial trauma. Fractured ribs that punctured his lung. Bruises everywhere... he has a broken nose, a split lip, and a black eye. I couldn’t count all the bruises.”

 

 Rey felt tears burning under her eyelids.  She wiped them with the back of her hand. “Bloody monstrous. And you, how are you holding up?”

 

"Yeah, I also have a broken rib and I took some hits, but it's nothing. They really got him.”

 

 "But why?” She cried, “why were they hell-bent on Finn?”

 

Poe let out a sigh of impatience through the speaker. Finally, he snapped. “Well what do you think, Rey?  Because he’s black! He’s black and gay, and he was beaten half to death for it. Those skinheads screamed at him to go back where he came from, and that they were going to bust his homo ass, and they really beat him up. Him, not me.”

 

 Poe took a breath, his voice breaking into a sob, but he didn’t give Rey time to respond. “I didn’t know how to protect him. I took shots at them but...I didn’t know...I didn’t know what else to do, I’m sorry.”

 

 With her hand on her mouth to keep her terrified emotions at bay, Rey listened to what seemed to a living nightmare. Poe sighed mournfully in the distance. 

 

 She could not find the words; her mind suddenly seemed empty. How this could have happened in this day and age was beyond her. “But...but Finn is English, he was born in Devon, and his parents too!”

 

 “Grow up, Rey, come out of the clouds.” Poe replied wearily. “Time to let go of the Care Bears.” 

 

His last sentence was so laden with exhaustion and bitterness that it brought her back to the present. “I'll call you back tomorrow.  If there’s news in the meantime, call me, promise?” She managed to articulate. 

 

 “Promise. Anyway, try to enjoy your vacation. Life is too short to waste wallowing in tears. I’ll watch over him.”

 

 It took several minutes for her to recover from that conversation. In a few sentences, in a few words, Poe had certainly upset her, but had also exposed himself. She had prepared for a confrontation, for the opportunity to shower Poe with insults, to make him pay for her sorrow, to make him carry the cross for inflicting such misery on all three of them...but he had been brimming with sincerity, and (though she hated to admit it) was more affected by this whole thing than she was. 

 

 She blew her nose and dried her tears. What would she have wanted instead? To marry a man who did not love her, not like that at least, and then find herself stuck in an unhappy marriage where all three of them would have been miserable?  

 

So what if she already paid the for the catering and the decor and all the bells and whistles? Finn was between life and death and he didn’t know that she had forgiven him. Unlike the wedding, that was truly priceless. 

 

 She would talk to Poe about it tomorrow.  It was time to make nice with each other.

 

 Rummaging in her bag, she found an old envelope and a tiny pencil. She hastily scribbled the words on the back of it before putting it in the glove box. 

 

_Life is too short to waste wallowing in tears._

 

 That would be her motto now. And she was going to start right away.

 

 Heart pounding, she wrote a text to Ben.

 

>  Hello Ben, I left for Yellowstone. I needed a change of pace, I won’t be at the concert tonight. What are your upcoming dates? Rey

 

Her phone lit up a few seconds later, but not with the response she was expecting. Her eyes widened in horror. With trembling hands, she opened the attachments that had just been sent to her by Poe. It was Finn's photographs. He was lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to complicated machinery with tubes and wires. His right eye was huge, swollen and purpling. Below the bandages that covered his chest and shoulders, his skin bore a myriad of scars and bruises. Rey locked the phone, finding the photos unbearable.  Finn wasn’t even thirty and he was going to die. _Life is too short to waste_ , Poe’s advice rang in her ears. 

 

 She forced herself to breathe deeply.  She would deal with it tomorrow. 

 

 Heart heavy, Rey spent a few minutes playing fetch with BB8, and the little dog's enthusiasm consoled her for a while. She was giving the dog a drink when she received an answer from Ben. 

 

>  Montana: Gardiner 7th, Bozeman 10th, Helena 13th, Missoula 15th. Idaho: Grangeville, Boise. Oregon...Will I see you again?

 

 She hesitated. Gardiner was just north of Yellowstone, which meant she could spend two days sightseeing. It was plausible. The band’s tour then continued further north than her route allowed.  Could she make a detour? The real question was, did she want to?

 

She hastily typed her response: 

 

> We’ll see. I would hate to be predictable. xoxo

 

 There was something about Ben Solo that she couldn’t pin down. She had been shocked by the intensity of his advances, he was almost too sure of himself, too dashing. But she was even more surprised at herself, at how quickly she’d yielded to his desires. 

 

 She needed to wait it out. She would give him a second chance, why not? But this time, she would be the one calling the shots. And right now, she had other concerns. Finn (her ex-fiancé-but-nevertheless-best-friend) was fighting for his life, BB8 needed to get home safely, she had to deal with dangers on the road (hello, blonde who tried to rob her), she still needed to find Leia Skywalker, and most importantly, she had to explore the majesty of the most beautiful national park ever. 

 

Stretching, she nibbled on a forgotten cookie at the bottom of the package.  Then, having exhausted the short list of distractions at her disposal, she decided to take the Falcon west, down the road leading to the famous Old Faithful. For as long as anyone could remember, the geyser sprang into action precisely every ninety minutes, reaching a height of over 50 feet. She would also be able to take advantage of the nearby visitor center to plan out her visit.

 

 Rey eased the car forward, about to exit the parking, when a sudden noise made her jump. She turned to find someone tapping at her windshield. There stood a short Asian woman with thick-rimmed spectacles framing her beady almond-shaped eyes. Her hair was gathered up in a scarf and the rest of her outfit seemed like it was composed of mismatched clothes bought from the various markets of Kathmandu. Perplexed, Rey turned the crank to lower her window.

 

 “Hello?” She said cautiously, “can I help you?”

 

 “Hello young lady, would you mind hitching me a ride?  I'm walking this way.”

 

 “Hitchhiking?” Rey marveled. “But I dunno if...how far are you going?”

 

 “To Alaska! “ The woman laughed, and Rey wondered if she was serious. “Darling, I will go as far as you take me.”

 

 Rey grimaced. “But I’m not going terribly far...I was going to stop at Old Faithful, it's only 18 miles away from here.”

 

 “It will always be thirty kilometers traveled without effort. Okay with you?  My name is Maz.”

 

 Rey paused.  She had routinely been warned against hitchhikers, and had heard dozens of terrifying stories about assaults and robberies.  But then again, the only people she had spoken to since her arrival in the United States were Ben Solo and his gang—No, that wasn’t true, she had also met Rose and Leia Skywalker, before everything went sideways. 

 

But this little woman seemed harmless, with her harem pants and tin jewelry. It wouldn’t cost Rey much to drive her 18 miles.

 

“I’m Rey,” she nodded, “get in.”

 

 At a surprisingly quick pace, old Maz walked around the Millenium Falcon and opened the door on the passenger side.  She settled in the seat yet her legs were so short that they barely touched the ground.  She was carrying a backpack as worn as it was dirty, which she slipped on the floor between her legs. 

 

"Do you want to put that in the boot, or erm—the trunk?” Rey suggested. “There’s plenty of space.” 

 

 “Oh no, it’s no bother,” smiled Maz. “For 18 miles it's not worth it.”

 

 Rey did not insist and began driving again, cautiously making her way through tourist-friendly areas full of cars of all sizes, and motorhomes as big as buses.

 

 “It's pretty, your accent,” Maz remarked casually. “You’re English?” 

 

 "Yes, from London," Rey replied politely.

 

 “You are on vacation, I assume?”

 

 “On my honeymoon.”

 

Maz looked behind her, as if to look for the missing husband in the back seat. She found no one but BB8, who looked back at her with her head held high and her tongue hanging out. Rey felt her discomfort and abruptly put an end to her silent questions. 

 

 “I’m on my honeymoon alone...it's complicated.  The marriage was annulled.” She provided. 

 

 "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," the little woman said gently, rushing to change the subject. “You plan to travel far, like that, all alone?”

 

 “Not to Alaska, hopefully.” 

 

 Maz laughed, and Rey relaxed a little.  She went on: "I'm going to California, through Montana and Idaho.  I wanted to see forests, all the open spaces. Everything is so much bigger than what I’m used to...And what a lot you? Are you really going to Alaska?”

 

 “Yes, and hitchhiking too. At my age, I have all the time I can spare! Not like young people who are always in a hurry...”

 

 "I don’t know if I'm in a hurry," Rey mused.  “But sometimes I feel like I’m in another world. Like a galaxy far, far away.”

 

 “Isn’t it normal for a _ray_ to have her head in the clouds?” Maz smiled. 

 

 Rey pouted. “You're the second person to make that joke this morning .”

 

All her life, she had been subject to jokes and expressions involving rays of sunshine, clouds, rainbows...and it was rather charming, in general.  But Poe's words, although based on a half-stupid pun, had hurt her.  He was right: she had to go back down to earth, to reality. And since she was out here making good resolutions, she ought to try not to be the victim of her own emotions and to act according to her reason rather than her impulses.

 

 Here’s to big resolutions. 


	19. Chapter 19

The conversation flowed amicably and Rey was quite relaxed by the time the Millenium Falcon reached the parking lot of the tourism office. 

 

 Maz left the car with one last affectionate pat for BB8, taking a moment to thank Rey for wishing her safe travels. 

 

 Inside the immense air-conditioned mass that was the tourism office, a 4-feet-wide digital clock showed the countdown until the next eruption of the geyser.

 

 With nearly half an hour to spare, Rey took a walk through the gift shop. She briefly admired the keychains and postcards, before pausing in front of an item that left her quite perplexed. Bear spray?  What on earth was that?

 

The shopkeeper—who was appropriately decked out in green forest ranger attire—informed her that it was used by hikers to ward off bears in the unfortunate event of an encounter. An accessory that would surely save lives, given the population of grizzlies that roamed freely within the park.  

 

Rey bought one because she knew that only too well. The odds of her being attacked by a bear a second time in so few days were low, but she had learned not to underestimate her natural tendency to conjure bad luck out of nowhere.  

 

Her phone informed her it was almost show time, so she settled on one of the benches installed in a semi circle at a safe distance from the white crater of the geyser.

 

* * *

 Syed felt like a punk in a playground. She had ended up in the middle a sea of tourists who were all wearing some hideous combination of sun hats, shorts, Hawaiian shirts, cameras, and—she shuddered—socks with sandals. She stuck out like a sore thumb against the pastel masses with her tall black-clad frame, her numerous piercings, and her menacing brass chains. 

 

She cursed Kylo for sending her to hell, far from her friends, her audience, her guns... and him. She had taken multiple photographs of a very sloppily dressed Rey, who had taken the Millennium Falcon for a joyride. Now she was wondering who to send them to. Kylo? Or Hux? Or maybe Snoke? 

 

Theoretically, she was doing this mission on behalf of Kylo Ren. But he had shown signs of weakness that in his interest, she had the duty to report further up the chain of command...his obsession for this little English brat was beyond comprehension.

 

He used the hunt for environmental activists as an excuse to justify his meddlesome romantic advances, but Syed was no fool. This girl was just a tourist. She wasn’t a secret agent of the Earth Soldiers. She was frolicking about with sunglasses and a cap glued to her skull, sipping some basic frappuccino, bothering bears, and taking selfies. It was improbable, and even impossible, that she was on a mission for an ecologist association that was making dooms-day preparations. She was too relaxed; obviously a woman on vacation, certainly not an agent on active duty. 

 

 Syed meanwhile, was always on the clock. It was a shame really, the amount of time had she wasted stalking that bitch.

 

 She finally sent the photos to Armitage Hux. He was particularly pleased when he received an image of Kylo in the throes of passion with his plaything.  She didn’t know what he would do with it, but she knew from experience that when Kylo needed a guardrail, Armitage Hux was the man of the hour. He would simply do a little sleight of hand and suddenly the unruly punk would fall back in line.  

 

Everything would be back to normal...like nothing had ever happened.

 

As for Kylo Ren himself, knowing he needed a bone to chew on, she sent him hourly reports of his little protege, deliberately omitting any mention of the hitchhiker. It was really the only useful information of the day;  and she preferred to keep an ace up her sleeve in case he decided to be difficult. 

 

 The hitchhiker was nearing the Millennium Falcon again, and Syed went off to disappear into the crowd.

 

 The little woman circled the car for a while, then sat down on the hood, with spectacular ease. She took off her hiking boots and massaged the soles of her feet. Syed rolled her eyes. For fuck’s sake, this old hag was probably less important an update than she had initially anticipated. 

 

When Rey came back, the woman had come down from her perch and was waiting patiently next to the mirror. Rey frowned. People had to seriously stop their fascination with her car. What was that all about? 

 

 All her wonder at the sight of the geyser (the truly magnificent explosion of water and steam as high as a five-storey building), faded to give way to an anxiety that was alas, very familiar.

 

 "You’re still here?” Her reaction was harsher than intended, spurred on by the unexpected intrusion. 

 

 "I was waiting for you, I hope you don’t mind," Maz replied innocently.  “I haven’t found another ride, may we continue some of this journey together?”

 

 Rey regretted her initial inclemency. She reacted too intensely, to everything.  She took a breath to force herself to regain her composure. Maz was harmless, but it was easy to see why she was struggling to find a helping hand: the park was teaming with pretentious tourists who were reluctant to change their route or their agenda...and who were suspicious of pickpockets.  She had been one of them, after all.

 

Rey sighed, her shoulders sagging. “Okay, fine...but I’m warning you, I’m doing a tour of all the geological marvels out here.” She said with a smile. 

 

 “Fine with me,” Maz smiled in return. “Thank you very much. I promise you won’t even know I’m here.”

 

 Rey swallowed a remark about Maz’s tiny stature, and gently pushed BB8 over to make space.

 

 “It's funny,” Rey observed. “BB8 doesn’t seem at all disturbed by your presence.  She’s rather aggressive with strangers, usually.”

 

 “What strangers?” Maz laughs, reaching out to stroke the dog.

 

 "Oh, just one stranger in particular," Rey corrected with a wave of her hand. “It was impossible for him to approach, she would try to bite him.”

 

“Had they met before?”

 

“No, of course not. He would have told me if...” Rey’s voice caught in her throat. 

 

Did Ben and BB8 have history?  It was unbelievable, and yet...he had immediately shown interest in her, seemingly out of nowhere, when they had joined him in the Jackson Hole Lodge parking. He even outright asked if BB was her dog. 

 

 It was a silly question to ask someone walking with a dog on a leash. Why would he need confirmation? 

 

Now that she thought about it, he had asked the same strange question about the Millennium Falcon:

 

Is this your car?

 

 Obviously, it was hers. It’s not like she was just playing Russian roulette out there, hoping to find a car she could force open in the middle of the parking garage. But it was strange that he tried to make sure.

 

 That said, in his defense, perhaps it was simply because the Millennium Falcon was an infamous bastard of a car. Anyone would have been shocked at seeing a machine like this still in use! Who knows what went on in Ben’s head?

 

 Her face had scrunched up into a worried expression, which did not escape Maz.

 

"Something bothering you?” She asked in a gentle voice, “maybe I can be of some help?”

 

 "I don’t really know," said Rey, still pensive, as she slowly pulled out of the parking space, "I've experienced some rather unlikely things since I landed in Denver. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

 

 "Start at the beginning," Maz replied encouragingly. “I've got plenty of time.”

 

 That afternoon, Rey and Maz visited some of the most spectacular geological sites around the volcano: boiling springs that gave way to rainbows, geysers by the dozen, bubbling fumaroles ...they even crossed paths with animals that were once threatened in the wild—but were in total safety within the park’s verdant confines. They came upon placid bison, elk, and bald eagles. Thankfully, they saw neither bears nor wolves. These animals, however numerous, tended not to approach busy trails.

 

 They spoke a lot.

 

 Rey found in Maz an attentive third party, to whom she could open up without fear of judgment, and especially without fear of the rampant sexual tension present in her conversations with Ben. She knew he was attracted to her, he did nothing to hide it. But as a result, she continually wondered if the words he said were sincere, rather than a carefully prepared speech designed to charm her to his bed. He had almost managed to get there, in fact.  

 

In principle, there was no harm to that, she was a consenting adult. And she had to admit that she had savored every kiss, every touch...But her own ardor worried her. Had she flirted with Ben Solo because she wanted him, or because she needed to be reassured, to be held, after what Finn had done to her?

 

 She had to put her heart back in place, heal her wounds, find her inner peace.  Only then would she consider Ben Solo.

 

 "You do not want to make him your consolation prize," Maz hummed sagely.  “That is rather commendable.”

 

 “I don’t think he cares either way. I mean, we are both consenting adults, but I don’t want to be a trophy...be just another notch in his bedpost.”

 

"You should talk to him...is it possible you’re mistaken about his intentions towards you?”

 

 Rey narrowed her eyes. “Yes, we need to talk ...” about more than you know.

 

 Maz was from Florida. She was bored of her apartment which sat at one end of the land, and thus decided one morning to go on foot to the other end. She had plenty of time, and improvised her itinerary at random. She had a host of tales to tell about backpacking trips to Central Asia or South America, often far from cities and crowds, and Rey began to wonder how old she really was. 

 

It was impossible to say: her face was both smooth and furrowed, her eyes constantly hidden behind huge triple-focus glasses. Her hands were small but her fingers were long and bony. Despite her diminutive appearance, she seemed to burst with energy, and possessed an exceptional amount of savoir faire.  

 

Yellowstone?  She knew every corner of the place. Alaska?  She knew which roads to use in which season. London?  She had lived there twice in her youth. The Millenium Falcon? She had once owned a car of the same make and model. BB8?  Canine behavior was no mystery to her.

 

 What a strange old woman, Rey pondered, finally glad to have good company. 

 

 Black Sand Basin, Geyser Basin, Great Fountain Geyser, Lower Geyser Basin...The park's attractions were like cat nip to tourists, including Rey and Maz.  It was hard to blame people for coming all the way to Yellowstone form the corners of the globe. 

 

 Evening was falling. The day had been exhausting, the traffic was atrocious, and the heat was stifling.

 

 Rey went to the Madison Village campground in the park to reserve a place for the night.

 

 Everything was complete.

 

 Finally able to stop panicking, she was content to sleep in her car in the campground parking. Simple as that. 

 

But what about Maz?

 

Leaving the campsite's bungalow, she returned to her car. The little woman was standing there, her bag hoisted on her shoulders.

 

 "I’m all done for today," Rey explained, “I'm going to sleep in the car, they told me it was okay as long as I paid parking fees. How about you?”

 

 She gestured awkwardly at the  car. “Do you want the back seat?  BB8 can come sleep with me...?”

 

 Maz smiled to assuage her fears. “Don’t worry, young lady. I'm used to sleeping under the stars.”

 

 

"Right here?! With the bears and everything—“ Rey was incredulous. 

 

 “Don’t fret. I’ll take care of myself, you take care of yourself and BB8.”

 

 Rey looked away as the sound of tinkling bracelets faded into the distance. Better not think about it, the last thing she need was an extra dose of anxiety. And besides, she was hungry.

 

 The vending machine at the campsite procured a packet of chips, a flavorless coffee, and a Snickers bar. Dejectedly, she looked down at her meal. It was the food pyramid of sadness. 

 

She wanted fresh vegetables and a hot plate...she would have to plan better tomorrow. These snacks were barely what she considered food. 

 

 What was Finn doing now?  She couldn’t help but wonder.

 

He was probably still on the respirator; if there had been any improvement in his condition, Poe would have called her. 

 

 What was Ben Solo doing?

 

 That was easy, he was about to give a concert. Rey pulled out her phone. Should she call him or send him a message?  She opted for a message.

 

> _Good luck with the concert tonight!  Not too nervous I hope?_

 

 An answer arrived immediately. He wasn’t on stage yet. 

 

> _Thanks for the good vibes! But I wish you were here in the room._


	20. Chapter 20

Hmmm, there he went flirting again. She would have liked an exchange without romantic undertones.

 

> Rey to Ben :
> 
>  You can’t just say things like that.

 

 She thought her own answer was a little caustic. Oh well, at least she could see his reaction.

 

> Ben to Rey :
> 
>  Are you mad at me? Can I make it up to you somehow? 

 

> Rey to Ben :
> 
>  I’m mad at myself.  My life is a disaster right now, I don’t have time for a fling. Sorry if my actions made you think otherwise. 

 

 Truthfully, her actions were much more receptive than she would care to admit. But if he was wise he wouldn’t dwell on the semantic abuse.

 

 

Ben's answer didn’t take long:

 

> Ben to Rey :
> 
>  I'm going to silence my phone for the concert.  I understand where you’re coming from, you know, even if it doesn’t always look that way. You can trust me.  

 

 Rey rolled her eyes. Subtlety was obviously not his forte...

 

> Rey to Ben :
> 
>  I don’t trust strangers. We'll have to get to know each other before anything else happens. Happy concert! 

 

> Ben to Rey :
> 
>  Okay. Good night to you too. TTYS  
> 
> Kylo Ren 

 

He signed it Kylo again. Rey made a face;  she didn’t like his stage name. Or the appearances he put up when he was in character. If she was to consider giving Ben Solo a chance, she would rather not deal with Kylo Ren. 

 

 She had her coffee (blegh), her chips, and her Snickers, before wiping her fingers on her jeans. What a peculiar honeymoon: alone with a dog, in the back of a car older than herself, eating snacks for dinner like a broke college student.

 

 Desperate to find an electrical outlet to charge her laptop, she resolved to unplug the vending machine for about fifteen minutes. It was probably the most illegal thing she ever did in her life, and even then—she thought with some irony—she was far from being a hooligan.

 

She slept for a long time the next day.  The previous nights had been long and exhausting. It was BB8’s impatient barking that finally woke her up. The poor dog needed to get out, she was pacing restlessly in the back seat. Rey pushed herself upright and scratched her head. The car stank of dog and sweat.  She herself had slept in her clothes from last night and was now sticky with perspiration and grime.

 

 "My kingdom for a bubble bath," Rey grumbled, realizing with disgust that she had not brushed her teeth the night before either.

 

 She was utterly unrecognizable. If she had been told a month ago that she would be traveling alone, sleeping in her clothes, and forgetting all notions of basic hygiene, she would have been shocked by such absurdity. How very wrong she would be!

 

 

She opened the door and let BB8 roam, then dragged herself out of the car with some difficulty.  She had slept badly and her neck hurt.

 

 BB8 made a few laps by herself, wagging her tail excitedly before finally relieving herself between two other cars. Meanwhile, Rey refilled her dog bowls with water and food.

 

 She was putting the bag of dog food back in the trunk when Maz reappeared.

 

 “Hello,” the little woman greeted her. “Did you sleep well?”

 

 "No," Rey admitted. “I'm cold, dirty, hungry, and hurting everywhere. I would give anything for a hot bath...what about you? "

 

 "I have strong bones, and I workout. I’ve had more difficult nights.”

 

 Rey pulled her toothbrush out of her bag, followed a bottle of water. Indifferent to Maz's presence, she began brushing her teeth with an expression of undisguised joy.  

 

 “Ere did you ‘leep?” She mumbled, her mouth filled with foam.

 

 “Under the stars. I found myself a cozy nook between two motorhomes. And apart from a family of opposums, I was undisturbed by wild animals during the night.”

 

 Rey rinsed her mouth. “You should have accepted my offer, it was still less risky... "

 

 Maz shrugged. “I like to sleep with the sky above my head, don’t worry. Don’t you think it’s time for breakfast?”

 

 “Not a moment too soon!” agreed Rey, whose belly was rumbling loudly. “But where are we going to find food in this area? At a hotel restaurant?”

 

“Let me, I know a place. How about a breakfast and a hot bath? How does that sound?” Maz offered, adjusting her enormous glasses.

 

 Rey gaped at her incredulously. “A hot bath? You're kidding...”

 

 “You’ll see. So, shall we?”

 

 Rey took the wheel, following Maz's directions as she guided the Falcon across Yellowstone from south to north until they reached Mammoth Hot Springs, one of the most popular points of interest in the entire park. Maz pointed to a parking place  in front of the village hotel. After haphazardly smoothing their dirty and disheveled clothes, they entered the restaurant together. 

 

The menu had Rey drooling. She ordered a mountain of pancakes with maple syrup, a large coffee with cream, and fresh fruit on the side. Maz, despite her meager frame, ate no less than her companion but in fact more. Scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, sausages, a black tea, and yogurt with fresh fruit. The two women sighed contently after wolfing down their meal, and Rey even let herself lick the plate clean, ignoring the disapproving glances from other customers. 

 

But alas, she was filthy, she smelled, her hair stood in odd clumps on her head, and she obviously didn’t mind her table manners. It was too much for the restaurant staff, who politely but firmly asked them to leave the premises. Maz  demanded a doggy bag before paying, then left the room with her head held higher than the Queen of England. 

 

 Once outside, Rey let out an irrepressible giggle and allowed herself cherish the pure joy of having a full stomach, a life in front of her, and a friend to share this moment with.

 

 The surplus of sausages was presented to BB8, who also deserved her share of the feast. When they finally caught their breath (after laughing for a good ten minutes at the offended pearl-clutching of several hotel guests), Rey stretched out on the lawn in the center of the village square.

 

 She turned to Maz, who sat cross-legged next to her. “Thank you,” she said.  “I haven’t eaten or laughed like that for a long time.”

 

 "I’m glad," replied the tiny woman. “Two days of traveling in such good company—a good meal was well-deserved, and the least I could do.”

 

 Rey closed her eyes, savoring the feel of the sun on her face. 

 

“Do you still want that bath?” Maz asked, reaching out to her gently. 

 

“More than ever,” Rey replied as she sat up suddenly. “But how are we going to manage it? Unless you’re telling me you snatched someone’s room keys while we were in there?”

 

“You don’t know me at all, do you? I live for the great out doors, child! I always find a way. To the Falcon!” 

 

 It took roughly ten minutes to reach the state border, located at the extreme northern point of the park. Rey stopped the car to spontaneously take a selfie in front of the "Montana" sign. Maz posed with her eventually, after no small amount of pleading. 

 

 The border of the national park was only a few kilometers north of them. Maz directed Rey to turn right and park on a rugged patch of raised earth overlooking the Gardner River. 

 

“Take some clean clothes and a towel and come with me,” Maz gestured, getting out of the car with her bag in tow.

 

“What?” Rey gaped incredulously, “Here? I asked for a bath, not a plunge in some wild river that probably plummets right down into the glaciers...”

 

Maz was practically glaring at her now. Rey raised an eyebrow. What was the old woman plotting?

 

They walked for several hundred meters on a trail that stretched alongside the river itself before reaching a rest area equipped with benches and informational signs. The latter described the hot water source that bubbled just beneath the riverbed. 

 

“Welcome to Boiling River,” Maz grinned broadly, “one of Yellowstone’s best-kept secrets to date.”

 

But Rey wasn’t listening anymore. She was instead busy struggling, on one foot, with her jeans that did not want to come off. Soon the denim was lying on the ground, followed by her sweater, and her t-shirt. Hesitating, Rey found herself in her underwear, rummaging in her bag for the bikini she knew she had stashed somewhere. 

 

 She put it on without worrying about being seen naked, and rushed into the water in pursuit of BB8, who had just jumped into the river with an enthusiastic splash. 

 

 "Bloody hell!” She shouted at the height of ecstasy, letting herself slide into the steaming whirlpools of the river with delight.

 

 Depending on one’s proximity to the spring, which boiled underground and mingled its scalding waters with the cooler Gardner River, one could enjoy a bath at 45 degrees (Celsius, of course) or colder. 

 

 “No soap allowed!” Maz yelled, taking off her boots. Any soap or shampoo would pollute the water. They had to respect park rules, after all. 

 

 Rey didn’t care.  To hell with shampoo!  The very caress of the hot water on her skin was divine. She could feel the dirt being swept away by the current, the sweat disappearing into the whirlpools, and her fatigue dissolving into the waves.

 

 The two women took advantage of the spring for over an hour. Thoroughly reinvigorated, they went out to dry in the sun.

 

 Rey put on clean clothes and carefully brushed her hair.  They would need a real shampooing eventually, but it was less urgent now. She could easily wait until she reached another campsite. 

 

 Consulting her phone, she found that it was almost noon. Her expression darkened, it was time to call Poe.

 

 She apologized to Maz, who was busy putting on her clothes, and walked away to have a little privacy. 

 

 No signal.

 

 Damn. She would have to either return to Mammoth Hot Springs, or failing that, would have to bargain for the hotel's wifi password. 

 

 Gathering their shoes, the two women returned to the car. There was a massive grey SUV parked on the side of the road, just a little further away.

 

 Rey had the feeling that she had seen it before somewhere...but it was a popular model, she might have just become accustomed to seeing dozens like it at a time. But was the owner?  She had had the impression that she and Maz were quite alone in this part of the park. 

 

 She shrugged, eventually driving south to return to the nearest town.

 

 Rey left the car door open to let in some fresh air, and gave BB8 to Maz as soon as she recovered enough bars to call England.

 

“Hello Rey,” Poe’s voice greeted her, “doing well, I hope?”

 

 "I'm fine, yes," Rey confirmed, and strangely enough, it was true. She felt good. Poe's voice had not upset her, and no malice was trying to seep through her own words. She felt calm and rage-free. 

 

“What about you and Finn?” 

 

 “I can’t complain. Not the best of times, but it’ll pass. No improvement in Finn, he’s still in a coma. "

 

"Can he hear when we talk to him?

 

 "I dunno," Poe mused. “The doctors say so...”

 

“And what are you telling him?” Rey's voice was barely above a whisper. 

 

 “I tell him about my day, and I tell him about you doing your trip and going on the adventure of a lifetime.” 

 

 In the silence, she smiled. Her eyes were red and burning with tears again.

 

 “Tell him that I forgive him, please. Tell him tp stop being a vegetable and that this should have happened differently, but that I understand. I understand. Okay?"

 

 "Okay, I'll tell him. Thanks, Rey.”

 

 “Poe?  Don’t hang up. Tell him he should have a vested interest in surviving, otherwise I’ll curse his grave every day by growing endives next to it and singing all the songs that annoy him.”

 

 She heard Poe laugh. “He does hate endives with a passion.”

 

“That’s what I’m saying.”

 

 “Okay.  I'm going to tell him that we'll grow a garden of endive and spinach on his grave if he forces us to.  If he’s not awake tomorrow, it will be nothing but his own fault.”

 

 “Exactly!”

 

 Finishing up the call, Rey wiped a tear for her cheek. She smiled in spite of her grief.

 

 At the wheel of her SUV, Syed breathed an exasperated sigh. She had slept in this fucking car instead of a nice bed, she had watched Rey and her new best friend Granny Whatshername eat like pigs and get kicked out of a restaurant, she had waited patiently for these two numbskulls to stop splashing in the water like children, and now she was witnessing a telephone conversation she couldn’t hear, but which was apparently so touchy-feely that Rey was literally blowing her nose at the end. She fired off a text:

 

> Syed to Ben : 
> 
> RAS with R. No suspicious activity.  Tourism + bathing. Waste of time!  Authorization to return? 

 

 The answer didn’t take long:

 

> Ben to Syed :
> 
> Look harder. She’s hiding something. U can do better than that.

 

 “Bastard!” Snarled Syed, punching the steering wheel and sounding the horn. “You're doing this to punish me! Son of a bitch!”

 

 She was dead sure, after two days of nonstop surveillance, that this Brit was here by accident and that FORCE was watching her for no reason whatsoever.

 

 She was, unfortunately, equally certain that Kylo Ren had reached the same conclusion but that he claimed otherwise because he refused to quit. 

 

 Let this bitch go. He had decided to seduce her, him and his bloated ego. As long as no one stood up to him he wouldn’t budge, and it was Syed who paid the price. 

 

 It was time to mobilize Hux and Snoke to put an end to this ridiculous charade.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos are cool ; comments are everything!  
> Enjoyed the story? Drop a comment! <3
> 
> A BILLION grateful thanks to P*, my translator. I am grateful beyond words!  
> And join me on twitter or tumblr? check for @elopez7228 for NSFW reylo art and fictions! ;-)


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